2026 COMMENCEMENT
Graduates and members of the audience are asked to remain in their seats throughout the ceremony so that they do not interfere with the special moments of others. During the ceremony, please turn off all cell phones and mobile devices. Thank you.
COMMENCEMENT PROGRAM
Order of Procession
The Faculty and Administration of the University
The Graduates of the University
The Dais Party
Dais Party
Walter Iwanenko, Ph.D. President
Stephen J. Nelson, ’79, MA, MD Chief Medical Examiner, Florida’s 10th Judicial Circuit
Rev. Michael Kesicki ’83 University Chaplain
Sarah Ewing, Ph.D. Provost and Vice President for Student Experience
Meghan Finton Jenkins ’20 DPT Alumni Representative
Kimberly Cavanagh, DHSc, PA-C Dean, Morosky College of Health Professions and Sciences
Order of Exercises
Processional*
Pomp and Circumstance: March No. 1
Sir Edward Elgar
National Anthem*
“The Star-Spangled Banner”
Francis Scott Key
Call to Commencement
Sarah Ewing, Ph.D.
Provost and Vice President for Student Experience
Invocation *
Rev. Michael Kesicki ’83 University Chaplain
Welcome
Walter Iwanenko, Ph.D. President
Presentation of Honorary Degree
Walter Iwanenko, Ph.D. President
Introduction of Commencement Speaker
Walter Iwanenko, Ph.D. President
Commencement Address
Stephen J. Nelson, ’79, MA, MD Chief Medical Examiner, Florida’s 10th Judicial Circuit
Presentation of Degree Candidates
Kimberly Cavanagh, DHSc, PA-C
Dean, Morosky College of Health Professions and Sciences
Doctor of Philosophy
Occupational Therapy Doctorate
Doctor of Nursing Practice
Doctor of Physical Therapy
Master of Physician Assistant Science
Master of Science, Speech-Language Pathology
Conferral of Degrees
Walter Iwanenko, Ph.D. President
Gannon University Alumni Welcome
Meghan Finton Jenkins ’20 DPT Alumni Representative
Academic Awards
Kimberly Cavanagh, DHSc, PA-C
Dean, Morosky College of Health Professions and Sciences
Prayer of Sending Forth
Rev. Michael Kesicki ’83 University Chaplain
*All who are able are asked to stand.
Prayer of Sending Forth
Rev. Kesicki
Lord God, You accompany us at each moment of our journey through life. Continue to guide our graduates in the paths they have chosen. May your truth purify their values. May your wisdom enlighten their decisions. May your goodness be the foundation of their relationships. May your love be the consolation of their souls. Be at their side in difficulty. Prompt their generosity in prosperity. Deepen their humility in success.
All respond: Amen
Rev. Kesicki: May almighty God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
All respond: Amen
Academic Regalia in American Universities
In 1895, the Intercollegiate Commission presented to American institutions of higher learning the Intercollegiate Code. Today, this code provides for three types of gowns. Those for bachelors are made of black material and have long, pointed sleeves. The master’s gown is made with an oblong sleeve, open at the wrist. The rear part of its oblong shape is a square cut and the front part has an arc cut-away. The doctor’s gown is made with bell-shaped sleeves and like the master’s gown, it is designed so that it can be worn open or closed.
The black oxford cap is worn for all degrees, but only the doctor’s cap may be made of velvet. Only doctors and presidents of colleges may wear a gold tassel on the cap.
It is the hood which is the most important and distinctive feature of the American code.
The doctor’s hood, of black cloth, is four feet in length and made with a wide panel. The master’s and bachelor’s hoods are three-and-one-half feet long and three feet wide.
The binding or trim of all hoods is of velvet, two, three and five inches wide for the bachelor’s, master’s and doctor’s degrees, respectively.
The color of this velvet trim indicates the department or faculty to which the degree pertains, each department having been assigned a different color by the Intercollegiate Code. The lining of the hood reflects the official colors of the college/university.
Occupational Therapy - Slate Blue Physical Therapy - Teal Physician Assistant - Green Speech-Language Pathology - Silver Gray
COMMENCEMENT SPEAKER
Stephen J. Nelson, ’79, MA, MD
Dr. Nelson earned his undergraduate degree in biology from Gannon University in 1979. He went on to complete a Master’s degree in Experimental Neuropathology at the Roswell Park Memorial Institute graduate division of SUNY Buffalo in 1982, followed by his medical degree in 1985. He served his residency in anatomic pathology and a fellowship in neuropathology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, followed by a fellowship in forensic pathology at the University of Miami.
Dr. Nelson is the Chief Medical Examiner for Florida’s 10th Judicial Circuit, a three-county area in Central Florida that includes Polk, Hardee and Highlands counties, half-way between Tampa and Orlando. He supervises a staff of twelve, with three physician/pathologists, and ancillary personnel including toxicologists, anthropologists, and odontologists.
Dr. Nelson is “hands on” and has personally supervised thousands of medical-legal death investigations throughout Florida, including many high-profile gubernatorial assignments such as deaths in Florida’s electric chair and the resulting issues of possible “cruel and unusual punishment.”
In addition to Dr. Nelson’s busy day-to-day forensic pathology practice, he maintains a busy consulting neuropathology practice for medical examiner offices throughout Florida and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. He was the consulting neuropathologist in the 2005 death of Terry Schiavo that sparked a national debate on an individual’s right-to-die, and again for celebrity Anna Nicole Smith who died following an overdose of prescription drugs in 2007. He regularly appears in both State courts and Federal courts throughout Florida and the Southeast.
For 18+ years he served on Florida’s Medical Examiners Commission, the oversight and regulatory board for how medical-legal death investigations are conducted in the Sunshine State. The majority of those years as Chairman. He has served as a gubernatorial appointee on Florida’s Violent Crime and Drug Control Council and on Florida’s Organ and Tissue Procurement and Transplantation Advisory Board.
In 2005, he was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal from the Polk County Sheriff’s Office for his assistance in a complex investigation involving the death of a police officer that went unsolved for many years. In 1991, he was awarded the Research Award for the American Academy of Forensic Sciences for his work on sustained contact high-voltage electrocution.
Dr. Nelson was born in Bradford, Pennsylvania. He and his wife Sue live in Lakeland, Florida with their two Doberman pinschers. They have two children: Katie is enrolled in law school and Matt is finishing his MBA degree.
Stephen J. Nelson, MA, MD Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa
CANDIDATES FOR DEGREES
College of Humanities, Education and Social Sciences
DOCTORAL STUDIES
Doctor of Philosophy
Angela Kelley
Doctoral Dissertation: Psychological Safety and Burnout of Advanced Practice Providers Based on Role and Setting
CANDIDATES FOR DEGREES
Morosky College of Health Professions and Sciences
DOCTORAL STUDIES
Occupational Therapy Doctorate
Audrey Antolak
Devyn Aschenbach
Stephanie Aviles-Velazquez
William James Barry
Kristina Grace Colleton
Elizabeth Grace Cribb
Alexandra Eyerly
Karissa Herrera
Madison Hoke
Hailey Rose Hubek
Jessica Kienle
Doctor of Nursing Practice
Cecilia A. Williams
Doctor of Physical Therapy
William Tyreke Adams
Joseph Dean Berninghaus
Jacob Bijoy
Eric N. Bonifield
Kaitlyn Nicole Carver
Benedict Barrozo Cendana
Jeremy L. Chambers
Alexis Janae Cotton
Briana DiFederico
Andrea N. Dunkley
O’Niyah Daashaun Edmonds
Lisa Marie Ennis
Danielle Nicole Hambright
Keyrra Mann
Amanda Therese Pombar
Hali Shaby
Molly Stauffer
Jianna Nita Stucchi
Kaylee Joyce Triplett
Sophia Lauren Trozzo
Brooklin Marie Webb
Payton Janae Young
Allison M. Zardus
Emily Rose Irwin
Ahra Suk Ko
Jude Lessaint
Madison Elizabeth Mewborn
Paige Narveson
Kevin Jason Piloto Diaz
Allison Ridgely
Connor James Schockling
Abigail Suzanne Tabb
Andrea Lee Watson Curtis
Austin James Weinkam-Wright
Allexus Joi Siyen Williams
GRADUATE STUDIES
Master
of
Physician Assistant Science
Maleeha Syeda Ahmad
Madelyn Edie Ayers
Brianna Marie Bellamy
Chloe Butcher
Neisa M. Carsele
Tyler Scott Dunbar
Mishawn Fitzgerald
Nicholas Helsel
Zachary Trammell Hitt
Ansley Brooke Holland-Singh
Hepah Hussein
Tracy Anh-Thu Le
Gabriella Marie Lloyd
Sophia Martin
Mandilee Morange
Juliette Mary Prindle
Eliana Mae Rampi
Brianna Restrepo
Katherine Rietmann
Lilliana Maria Rodriguez
Nicole Rodriguez
Kayla Mae Russell
Alyssa Spector
Chelsea Lynn Sumi
Brenna Danielle Taylor
Sydney Elizabeth Tremper
Hannah Leigh Wild
Julia Ann Willard
Alyssa Ann Withers
Taylor Lynn Zajdowicz
Master of Science | Speech-Language Pathology
Bella Maria Arthur
Alison Boucher
Hanna Mary Brosius
Kaitlin Ann Carmichael
Lisa Karin D’Eufemia
Samantha Marie Flannelly
Salina Audrey Gilliss
Jordan Kayla Horwitz
Andie Elizabeth Kendall
Caitlyn Elvira Kleintop
Mia Francesca Lafond
Gabriela Lopez
Grace McGuire
Madison Alissa Morello
Kelly Murray
Autumn Olthoff
Hannah M. Schramm
Thea Marie Woolslare
ACADEMIC AWARDS
Graduate Studies
For Excellence in...
Gabriella Marie Lloyd
Physician Assistant
Kaitlyn Nicole Carver
Doctor of Physical Therapy
Audrey Antolak
Occupational Therapy
Lisa K. D’Eufemia
Speech-Language Pathology
Kappa Gamma Pi Nominees
The following students were nominated for the Kappa Gamma Pi National Catholic College Graduate Honor Society for academic excellence and service leadership.
Angela Kelley Caitlyn Kleintop Katherine Rietmann
GANNON UNIVERSITY MISSION
Gannon is a Catholic, Diocesan university dedicated to excellence in teaching, scholarship and service. Our faculty and staff prepare students to be global citizens through programs grounded in the liberal arts and sciences and professional specializations. Inspired by the Catholic Intellectual Tradition, we offer a comprehensive, values-centered learning experience that emphasizes faith, leadership, inclusiveness and social responsibility.
A digital version of this program can be found at www.gannon.edu/commencement.
The list of graduates included on the commencement program is not intended to be used as an official indication of graduation. The diploma of the University and the official transcript, signed and sealed by the proper officers, provide authentic testimony to the conferring of a degree.