2025 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
Andrew “Drew” Contreras, ’96 ’98 MPT Commencement Speaker
Rev. Michael Kesicki ’83 University Chaplain
Sarah Ewing, Ph.D. Provost and Vice President for Student Experience
Mahesh Aggarwal, Ph.D. President, Faculty Senate
Mary M. Iwanenko, ’19OTD, MS/OTR Alumni Representative and First Lady
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
Andrew “Drew” Contreras, ’96 ’98 MPT
Presentation of Degree Candidates
Kimberly Cavanagh, DHSc, PA-C
Dean, Morosky College of Health
Professions and Sciences
Occupational Therapy Doctorate
Post-Professional Occupational Therapy Doctorate
Degree in Memoriam
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
Mary M. Iwanenko, ’19OTD, MS/OTR Alumni Representative and First Lady
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
Andrew “Drew” Contreras, ’96 ’98 MPT
Andrew “Drew” Contreras, ‘96 ‘98 MPT, is a retired lieutenant colonel U.S. Army physical therapist. Contreras received his Master of Physical Therapy from Gannon University and his Doctor of Physical Therapy from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Contreras served in several clinical settings and operational units throughout his physical therapy career during his time in the military—notably being the in-house, physical therapist for the President Barack Obama administration for seven years—before his retirement in 2020.
He spent his early career at Fort Benning in Georgia working in a direct access primary musculoskeletal physical therapy setting evaluating and treating basic trainee soldiers and the U.S. Army airborne school.
In 2003, he moved to Fort Bragg in North Carolina where his primary role was supporting the 82nd Airborne Division and various special operations units. His skills were put to work extensively in 2006-07 during a 15-month, continuous deployment during Operation Iraqi Freedom, where he was the first physical therapist to deploy with the 82nd Airborne Division, 3rd Brigade Combat Team.
After returning, Contreras moved to Washington D.C. to work at the Pentagon Health Clinic, where he served as the director of wellness and physical therapy. During this time, he served as a consultant to the White House Medical Unit.
Due to his successful integration of physical therapy into the White House, he was chosen by the 44th president of the United States, Obama, to serve as the first-ever, full-time physical therapist at the White House.
There, Contreras served as the physical therapist to the White House Medical Unit and Obama from 2010 until the end of the administration in 2017.
During this time, he also worked with a wide range of government officials, as well as police and law enforcement agencies. He traveled the world with the patients he served and was able to help keep people functioning in their roles to serve the nation.
He finished his career returning to Fort Bragg to serve as the chief of the Physical Performance Service Line / Physical Therapy at Womack, the largest physical therapy clinical setting in the Department of Defense.
After retiring, Contreras established a concierge practice to provide clinical care and consulting. He continued to serve his country as the White House Physical Therapy consultant for the White House Medical Unit and physical therapist for the 46th President of the United States Joe Biden.
Professionally, he joined the senior leadership team of the American Physical Therapy Association to serve as the vice president of Clinical Integration & Innovation. In this capacity he worked to enhance the service and scope of practice of physical therapists working across the country.
His portfolio included Digital Health, Clinical Innovation and Advanced Clinical Practice. His efforts included two national achievement awards from the American Society of Association Executives and numerous clinical engagements that helped drive the physical therapy profession into the digital era.
Contreras has since assumed the role of vice president of Strategic Affairs. In this role, he manages national and international relationships and alliances that are of strategic value to the profession. He works closely with industry partners and the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) Board of Directors to strategically advance the APTA mission and vision.
Andrew “Drew” Contreras Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa
GRADUATE STUDIES
Master of Physician Assistant Science
Nina Denise Anastasis
Mysa Anshassi
Kelsee Bargnesi
Kenzee Bargnesi
Avery Marie Bell
Andrea Brocker
Amanda Miguel Caban
Adriana Jovita D’Souza
Rylee Belle Everett
Sarah Michelle Cooper-Everett
Brianna Nichole Fischer
Lucas Gomes
Dawson Holbrook
Ayat Ali Masalma
Lisa Matson
Genesis Garcia-Oliver
Alicia Divya Ozhakanat
Emily Poling
Jordan Michelle Reed
Susan Osama Sadick
Samantha Elizabeth Spina
Priya Taneja
Michael Thomas Theiling
Stefan Trimarco
Leeanna Rae Tupek
Maria Karolina Uberna
Linda Vu
Taylor John Warr
Bailey White
Master of Science | Speech-Language Pathology
Isabella Samije Abreu
Alivia Jasmine Chasse’
Ashton Dutenhaver
Ever Lynn Gray
Jordan Kayla Horwitz
Lauryn J. Latimer
Alexia Marissa Martinez
Myranda Persad
Janelle Sarah Richard
Nicole Rodov
Suzanne M. Roskow
Taylor Blaine Siner
Emily Strickland
Katherine Alyssa Thornton
Madison Wall
Jane Catherine Wilson
Evisa Zyka
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.