Assumption Students Named TO Dean’s List
Assumption University has announced those who have been named to the University’s Dean’s List for the spring 2025 semester. Students named to the Dean’s List must achieve a grade point average of 3.5 for a five-class, 15-credit semester to be included on this prestigious list, which is announced at the completion of the fall and spring semesters.
• Nicole Marin
• Samantha Porazinski
• Andrew Leone
Local Residents Receive Degrees at WPI’S 156th Undergraduate Commencement
Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) celebrated its 2025 Commencement with a series of ceremonies honoring the achievements of graduates across all degree levels. For the second year, commencement exercises were held at the DCU Center, where WPI conferred 1,298 bachelor’s degrees representing a diverse range of disciplines in science, engineering, technology, business, and the humanities. President Grace J. Wang, PhD, and Board of Trustees Chair William Fitzgerald presided over the 156th Commencement exercises on Friday, May 16.
Wang told members of the Class of 2025 they are entering a changing world filled with competing visions for how to solve challenges and advance society. But, she said, along with knowledge and technical competence in their chosen fields of study, WPI graduates have been equipped with the ability to think critically, to be resilient, to work in teams, and to do it all with a sense of ethics and global responsibility.
“Outside these walls today is a world that needs you,” Wang said. “Not just because of what you have learned to do in your chosen field, but because of who you are, and also because of the leadership qualities you built at WPI.”
Delivering the undergraduate Commencement address, Michelle Gass ’90, president and chief executive officer of Levi Strauss & Co., reflected on her journey from student to global business leader to inspire the Class of 2025. Gass said she’s often asked how a chemical engineering graduate from WPI became CEO of one of the most iconic apparel companies in the world. The answer, she told the graduates, lies in a handful of guiding principles she started refining in her years on the WPI campus.
“I’ve realized that to the extent I’ve been successful and able to engineer the kind of life I wanted for myself and my family, it’s largely because I learned how to approach problems and moments intentionally and productively, while keeping real people in mind at all times,” Gass said.
Gass and Mark Fuller, chair and treasurer of the George F. and Sybil H. Fuller Foundation, a significant supporter of WPI, received honorary degrees as part of the ceremony.
Student speaker Dhespina Zhidro, a biomedical engineering and mechanical engineering double major, reminded fellow graduates about the community they formed for themselves, shaped by a collective experience that included struggle, doubt, and, ultimately, achievement.
“WPI has given us more than an education,” Zhidro said. “It has given us a blueprint for how to live, how to lead, create meaningful change, and leave every place we enter better than we found it.”
The following graduates earned BS degrees:
• Dang Nguyen from Revere, majored in Electrical and Computer Engineering
• Sakshi Gauro from Revere, majored in Robotics Engineering
WPI Students Complete Capstone Research Projects
Almost 1,200 undergraduate students at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) completed a senior capstone thesis that is required of all graduating seniors as part of the university’s distinctive project-based educational experience. Known as Major Qualifying Projects (MQP), these are professional-level research experiences in the students’ fields of study that challenge students to solve the kind of problem they would typically encounter in their professional discipline.
“It’s inspiring to see the creativity and skills that our students bring to these hands-on projects, as well as the professionalism with which they present their research,” says Arne Gericke, interim dean of undergraduate studies and director of the Office of Undergraduate Research. “Their experience managing a major project like this-including identifying a problem and researching all of the implications and possible solutions while also managing team dynamics over an extended period of several months-sets them up well for success not only in their first jobs after graduation but throughout their careers.”
WPI’s innovative undergraduate education is centered around project-based learning, a hands-on approach that requires students to apply their scientific and technical knowledge to real-world, open-ended problems. During their time at WPI, all students complete two significant research projects that produce tangible results and often affect the quality of people’s lives. These projects change both the student and their world.
MQPs are usually team-based and often focus on specific issues or needs of an organization that has partnered with the university to sponsor the students’ work. In addition to providing practical work experience that proves valuable to future employers, MQPs often lead to publications in peer-reviewed journals, presentations at regional and national conferences, patents, and entrepreneurial ventures. Others become useful innovations and products for their corporate sponsors.
The following students completed an MQP:
• Sakshi Gauro from Revere, Massachusetts, majoring in Robotics Engineering, class of 2025, completed a project titled “ID MQP-D38500 – SMAC 6.0
• Dang Nguyen from Revere majoring in Electrical and Computer Engineering, class of 2025, completed a project titled “Design of a Digital Twin Apparatus
Local Students Graduate From College of the Holy Cross
Holy Cross celebrated the 733 bachelor of arts degree recipients at its 179th Commencement held in person on Friday, May 23 at the DCU Center in Worcester. Dr. Linda LeMura, president of Le Moyne College and the first female layperson to be named president of a Jesuit institution of higher education in the United States delivered this year’s address to the Class of 2025 and received an honorary degree.
In her remarks, LeMura emphasized that the goal of a Jesuit-and specifically a Holy Cross-education is to unite two identities: the dreamer and the doer, following the example of St. Ignatius of Loyola.
“Graduates, my wish for you-today, and every day-is that you will hold tight to your skills and to your dreams,” said LeMura. “Treasure them both. Your dreams will inspire your work, and your work will inspire your dreams. Never let go of the whimsical, poetical, visionary dreamer that lives in each and every one of you.”
In addition to LeMura, Holy Cross also awarded an honorary degree to Sister Barbara Rogers, RSCJ, a longtime leader of the Newton Country Day School of the Sacred Heart.
The following local students earned degrees:
• Nachelle Duque
• Kyle Gove Cum Laude
Regis Students Recognized for Academic Excellence on Spring 2025 Dean’s List
Regis announces those students who met academic requirements to be named to the university’s spring 2025 Dean’s List, in recognition of their outstanding academic achievements. To earn a spot on the Dean’s List, Regis students must earn a grade point average (GPA) of 3.5 or higher; first-year students must have a GPA of 3.25 or higher.
“The Dean’s List recognizes students who demonstrated dedication to their degree program in the spring semester,” said Dr. Mary Erina Driscoll, PhD, Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs. “Throughout a student’s academic journey, the Regis curriculum challenges students to ask insightful questions in their pursuit of the truth. The university community congratulates those students named to the Dean’s List for the spring 2025 semester.”
Founded by the Sisters of St. Joseph nearly a century ago, Regis challenges, inspires, and supports students who are driven by passion, purpose, and a pursuit to positively impact the world within a learning community that embraces inclusivity and innovation and builds strong character, confidence, and careers.
Regis congratulates the following students named to the spring 2025 Dean’s List:
• Amelia Amodeo
• Estephany Avilez
• Juan Chica Chavarria
• Jaimy Gomez Reyes
• Jasmine Pham
Taryn Roberts named to Dean’s List
Taryn Roberts, a Lasell University student from Revere, was named to the Dean’s List for their academic performance in the Spring 2025 semester.
To be named to the Dean’s List, Lasell students must complete at least 12 credits as a full-time student and achieve a semester GPA of 3.5 or higher.
Stonehill College Celebrates Class of 2025
614 students processed at Stonehill College’s 74th Commencement on Sunday, May 18, 2025. The following were among those who marched:
• Steven Leone ,
• Joseph Polidoro
Mendoza of Revere achieves President’s List honors
Janaisa Mendoza has achieved President’s List honors for the fall 2024 semester at Nichols College.
President’s List recognizes those students who achieve high grades during a single semester. Students whose semester grade point average is 3.85 or higher for at least 12 undergraduate credit-hours and no grades below B- will receive President’s List honors.
Local Residents Named to Dean’s List for Spring 2025 Semester
Saint Anselm College has released the Dean’s List of high academic achievers for the second semester of the 2024-2025 school year. To be eligible for this honor, a student must have achieved a grade point average of 3.4 or better in the semester with at least 12 credits of study which award a letter grade. This semester there were a total of 674 students from 22 states and 4 countries.
Mark W. Cronin, Dean of the College, announced that the following student has been named to the Dean’s List for the spring 2025 semester at Saint Anselm College, Manchester, New Hampshire;
• Marina Gandolfo, of Revere who is majoring in Biology (BS) Major
Local Residents Earn Dean’s List Honors from MassBay
The follow residents have been named to the MassBay Community College Dean’s List, earning this academic honor for the Spring 2025 semester.
• Yolanda Daluz-Soto who studies General Studies
• Nancy Lewis who studies Paralegal Studies
• Laura Martinelli who studies Paralegal Studies
To be eligible for the MassBay Dean’s List, students must complete at least six credits of college-level courses, earn a grade-point average of 3.5 or higher, and be in good standing with the College.
Local Residents Earn Degree from MassBay
The following local residents academic dedication and hard work were celebrated at MassBay Community College’s 63rd Commencement ceremony on May 29.
• Ana Fernandez has earned an Associate of Arts in Liberal Arts – Early Childhood Education.
• Jeremy Castillo Vides has earned an Associate of Science in General Studies Automotive Technology.
• Diana Cavazos Valdez has earned an Associate of Science in Nursing.
• Mardilene Amaral Dos Santos Ferreira has earned a Certificate in Early Childhood Education.
• Nancy Lewis Alviti has earned a Certificate in Paralegal Studies.
Local Students Named to Stonehill College’s Spring 2025 Dean’s List
Stonehill College is pleased to recognize the students named to the Spring 2025 Dean’s List. To qualify for this recognition, students must achieve a semester grade point average of 3.50 or better. They must also have successfully completed all courses for which they were registered during the term.
• Joseph Polidoro
• Brayden Shanley
Stonehill College, a Catholic institution of higher learning, was founded by the Congregation of Holy Cross in 1948. Located on the beautiful 387-acre campus and former estate of Frederick Lothrop Ames in North Easton, Massachusetts, it is a community of scholarship and faith, anchored by a belief in the inherent dignity of each person.
Through more than 100 academic programs in the liberal arts, sciences, business and pre-professional field, Stonehill College provides an education of the highest caliber that fosters critical thinking, free inquiry and the interchange of ideas for over 2,500 students.
Bojorquez named to the Champlain College Online Spring Dean’s List
Santos Bojorquez of Revere, MA, was named to the Champlain College Online Dean’s List for the Spring 2025 semester.
Students on the Dean’s List have achieved a grade point average of 3.5 or higher during the semester. Bojorquez is currently majoring in Management Information Systems.
Making the Dean’s List is a tremendous achievement. Many of the high achievers balance their career-focused classes with jobs, internships, clubs, and volunteering.
Founded in 1878, Champlain College is a small, not-for-profit, private college in Burlington, Vermont, with additional campuses in Montreal, Canada, and Dublin, Ireland. Champlain offers a residential undergraduate experience from its beautiful campus overlooking Lake Champlain. Additionally, Champlain College Online provides an expansive portfolio of online degrees and certificates, reaching students across all 50 states and U.S. territories, while fostering strategic partnerships with forward-thinking workforce organizations. The College is known for its distinctive and innovative approach to career-focused education and its Upside-Down Curriculum, which helps students be ready for work, ready for life, and ready to make a difference. Champlain is ranked as one of the “Best Colleges” by U.S. News & World Report for 2025, and was named one of the “Best 390 Colleges” by The Princeton Review for 2025, including among its “Best Northeastern colleges.”
