COMMENCEMENT
Saturday, May 10, 2025
Order of Exercises
Processional | Pomp and Circumstance (Elgar)
Sunnie Paxson Band
Presentation of the Mace
Wayne Kastning
Assistant Professor | Fashion Design
National Anthem | The Star-Spangled Banner Firm Soundation
Invocation
Dr. Rossen Ventzislavov
Professor | Liberal Arts and Sciences
Invitation to Commencement
Jeff Bellantoni
President + Senior Academic Officer
Board of Trustees Speaker
Krista Newkirk
President + CEO
University of Redlands
Introduction and Hooding of Honorary
Degree Recipient, Supervisor Kathryn Barger
Jeff Bellantoni
Commencement Address
Kathryn Barger
Los Angeles County
Supervisor for the 5th District
Order of Exercises (Continued)
Alumni Speakers
Mariya Palanjian
MBA | School of Business, 2001
Ignacio Rodriguez
BA | School of Architecture, 2007
Donny White
BFA | School of Media : Culture : Design, 2022
Student Speaker, Class of 2025
Katayoun Jangi Nejad
School of Architecture
Presentation of Program Honors
Dr. Jennifer Peterson
Professor + Dean of Faculty: Governance
Jeff Bellantoni
President + Senior Academic Officer
Professional photographers will be taking pictures of each graduate during the ceremony. Additionally, the commencement proceedings will be videotaped. The audience shall refrain from smoking in all areas on campus.
Degrees awarded in the ceremony are conditional upon completion of course requirements in accordance with University policies.
Presentation of Candidates, Class of 2025
Jeff Bellantoni
President + Senior Academic Officer
Dr. Jennifer Peterson
Professor + Dean of Faculty: Governance
Heather Flood
Dean | School of Architecture
Dr. Joan Marques
Dean | School of Business
Dr. Will McConnell
Director | Liberal Arts & Sciences
Heather Flood
Dean | School of Media : Culture : Design
Undergraduate Degrees
Bachelors’ Degrees with Honors
Summa Cum Laude, Magna Cum Laude, Cum Laude
Bachelor of Architecture
Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Business Administration
Bachelor of Fine Arts
Bachelor of Science
Graduate Degrees
Master of Architecture
Master of Arts in Organizational Leadership
Master of Business Administration
Master of Interior Design
Marking the Retirement of Wayne Kastning, Assistant Professor of Fashion Design
Dr. Rossen Ventzislavov
Alumni Association
Dr. Sharon Townsend
Executive Director | Development and Alumni Affairs
President, ASWU
Trinity Santillan
Architecture and Interior Design, Class of 2025
Phi Sigma Sigma, Zeta Alpha | Alumna
Bachelors’ Degrees with Honors 2025
Summa Cum Laude
Colleen Barboza
Jeremy Barretta
Bailey Brown
Isabella Duarte
Jazmin Duarte
Caden Farhat-Tomaszewski
Kaylee Jaime Estanislao
Eric Anthony Gomez
Grecia Patricia Salinas Gonzalez
David Seline Magtoto
Abigayle Owens
Kaci Keung Jin Yukiko Hideko Theros
Borna Torabinejad
Magna Cum Laude
Angel Anthony Aguilar
Camryn Andrews
Christian Brian Becerra
Christi Janet Zargaryan
Shreya Bhushan
Yumeng Chang
David Covarrubias
Riya Deshpande
Ani Dzheragyan
Zian Fairnot
Benjamin Fala
Emil Fallahi
Anson Feng
Alexandra Patricia Garcia
Christie Marie Despina Iseki
Julia Issa
Isabella Kirakosian
Alexa Lopez
Andrew Lynch
Emma Manning
Sierra Noble
Mariana Ottan
Sara Pogemiller
Joshua Quizon
Jose Ceazar Reyes
Ludwig Rodriguez
Sophia Root-Stevens
Isabella Marie Sangolqui
Daniella Santos
Nathan Schiltz
Danny Tahirai
Amanda Tran
Cianan Veltz
Neha Vignesh
Vanessa Villegas
Cum Laude
William Abraamyan
Karen Ayvazian
Gevorg Barutyan
Alina Varzhapetyan
America Bravo
Jennifer Y. Contreras
Pearl Daisy Diaz
Areni Davityan
Britanni Marie Dighero
Neil Michael Eiklor
Natalya Maria Estrada
Angel Esparza
Nour Fayek
Sebastian Fanucci
Angel Gregory Garcia
Griffin Reilly Hagen
Madison Marie Joneson
Saad Ali Ladhani
Evan Makarov
Jaden K. Mena
Kevin Munoz
Noah Michael Muñoz
Andrew Navia
Safiah Syeda Peeran
Leonardo Perez
Isha Prajapati
Nandini Kamlesh Prajapati
Taylor Ramcharitar
Jagjot Singh Rathor
Sarah Rodriguez
Iliana Giselle Rojo
Lara Sepetjian
Kai Shaffer
Seslie Elena Silva
Zina Shakrouf
Tiana Toxqui
Chester Tumbos
Monika Armenovna Uguryan
Briella Dawn Wadkins
Porter Watson
Samson Sau Ching Wu
Degree Candidates Spring 2025
School of Architecture
Bachelor of Architecture
ARCHITECTURE
Omniya A. Abdalla
William Abraamyan
Meena Afshar
Angel Anthony Aguilar
Saga Ha albariki
Jose Alvarado
Anto Amirkhanian
Emil Amyan
Camryn Andrews
Lorents Michael Assadourian
Karen Aywazian
Alaa Bakhiet
Christian Brian Becerra
Andrew Boehm
America Bravo
Ahshohn Casilan
Hakob Chagaian
Kayla Ryan Clodfelter
David Covarrubias
David Dallakyan
Areni Davityan
Mateo De Leon
Pearl Daisy Diaz
Britanni Marie Dighero
Essie Aika Domingo
Alex Dagoberto Duarte
Angel Esparza
Nandini Kamlesh Prajapati
Natalya Maria Estrada
Benjamin Fala
Sebastian Fanucci
Nour Mohamed Fayek
Anson Feng
Valerie Flores
Elena Gharibyan
Griffin Hagen
Valerie Hernandez
David Juarez
Ovsanna Kalamdaryan
Alisa Marie Kelly
Suren Khachatryan
Saad Ladhani
Aryan Raul Lopez
Seline Magtoto
Alfonzo Martinez
Christian Martinez
Jessica Mejia
Rebecca Megan Montanez
Seyedehkatayon Mosaviarabi
Kevin Munoz
Maneh Nazaryan
Victor Salvador Ortiz
Mariana Pessoa Ottan
David Otuzbiryan
Zakar Papaian
Jennifer Perez
Jasmine Gabriella Porter
Oliver Portillo
Leslie Ramirez
Jagjot Singh Rathor
Jose Reyes
Ludwig Rodriguez
Meredith Roush
William Saint
Trinity Santillan
Martin Sargsyan
Alexa Schlepp
Zina Shakrouf
Chris Shirinian
Heather Raquel Silk
Matthew Alexander Silva
Nicholas Sinanian
Daisy Sotoj
Spencer Sprotte
Danny Tahiraj
Milen Taroyan
Travis Colton Taylor
Kaci Keung Jin Yukiko Hideko Theros
Aida Tonoian
Chester Tumbos
Monika Armenovna Uguryan
Elizabeth Valles
Ervin Vartoomian
Alina Varzhapetyan
Alberto Vazquez
Peter Vazquez
Neha Vignesh T
Vanessa Villegas
Porter Watson
Samson Sau Ching Wu
Johline Yao
Meghrig Zaki
Yamin Eizali Zaw Htet Myat Moe
Ying Zhen
Graduate Degree Candidates Spring 2025
School of Architecture
Master of Architecture
Dan Benaroch
Jordan Chevalier
Tannaz T. Fatehi
Matt Feldman
Christopher Lee
Evan Luckey
Joseph Moore
Katayoun Jangi Nejad
Gregory P. Scott
Rakshith Somashekar
Master of Interior Design
Zahra Ghanavati
School of Business
Master of Business Administration
Abdulaziz Asaad Al Rushaid
Lilit Ashchyan
Lilit Bagoumian
Rahaf Baswleh
Craig Kenyon Dikes
Jacquex Frankel
Rozalia Hovhannisyan r
Arsh Kalthia
Melanie Alexandra Kosker
Selena Markarian
Sabrina Karina Pelenghian
Yana Petrosyan
Gabriel A. Rodriguez
Ani Saroyan
Ervin Vartanian Khoygani
Diana Tifekchian
Evelyn Zarabian
Emin Zohrabyan
Master of Organizational Leadership
Ani Baibourtian
Ana Luisa Valencia r
Student Commencement Speaker
Katayoun Jangi Nejad
School of Architecture | Burbank
Campus
MArch, Class of 2025
Katy Janginejad is an emerging architecture professional with a background in architectural engineering and design. In Iran, she earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Architectural Engineering from Azad University and founded and managed her own clothing brand, Klee, showcasing her entrepreneurial creativity and ability to balance multiple ventures. Katy is graduating with a Master of Architecture degree from Woodbury University, attaining a 3.87 GPA with a focus on design computation, and where she served as both a teaching and research assistant. Katy was a guest speaker and juror for the Future Cities National Competition, reflecting her growing presence in the academic and professional design community. Her work has been exhibited at Los Angeles Design Week and Woodbury’s Media Environment exhibit. Passionate about high-tech and futuristic architecture and sustainable design, she looks forward to applying her creativity, technical skills, and interdisciplinary experience to forward-thinking design projects in the near future. As she addresses the 2025 graduating class, Katy reflects on her challenging yet fulfilling journey as an international student. She says, “If it weren’t for Woodbury, I never would have seen the world from the perspective I have now. That’s the beauty of stepping outside of our comfort zones and embracing the unknown.”
About Woodbury
Engagement | Innovation | Transformation
Mission Statement
We transform students into innovative professionals who will contribute responsibly to the global community. We achieve academic excellence by focusing on purposeful student engagement; establishing external partnerships; and ensuring that all of our processes, services, and environment enrich the student experience.
Core Values
> Excellence | Driven by standards of excellence in teaching, services, student wellbeing, community safety and sustainable practices
> Ethics | Setting the highest standards of academic and professional behavior to encourage social responsibility
> Aspiration | Pursuing ever higher levels of competitiveness, distinctiveness and service learning
> Community | Building a culture that values diversity, open communication, collaboration and engagement
Strategic Principles
The speeches of today’s student speakers focus on these strategic principles. They are our values, our active verbs, our lodestars. They form the core of the student experience; they define our aspirations and our outcomes.
> Entrepreneurship | Fostering a culture of creativity, innovation and opportunity
> Design Thinking | Developing the ability, desire and confidence to imagine new ideas to create impact and make a difference
> Civic Engagement | Achieving civic fulfillment through the process of giving baent.
Contribution to Society
Since 1884, Woodbury University has served a distinguished role in meeting the unique educational needs of Southern California students. At the heart of that creative economy, the institution cultivates a personal, interactive learning environment that focuses on innovative, practice-based professional and liberal arts education. Woodbury’s students represent the cultural diversity of Southern California and through this transformative education they are empowered to do extraordinary things.
Woodbury University Seal
The traditional Woodbury University seal appears on the program you are holding and is also embossed on the diploma that each graduate will receive. The symbolism of the seal has inspired generations of students, alumni, faculty, and administrators. The lamp represents the search for truth and virtue, and the quill pen and book are symbols of the global and historical body of knowledge that students study in the core curriculum and in their respective disciplines.
Commencement Committee 2025
Evetth Gonzalez Co-Chair
Michelle Sidney Co-Chair
Ani Amirkhanian
Library
Renato Aranda Maintenance
Verletta Jackson Registrar’s Office
Andrea Bruno Office of the President
Elizabeth “Lisa” Cooper Academic Affairs
Rachel Farnsworth Liberal Arts and Sciences
Jerri Hemsworth Marketing
Sharon Townsend Alumni Association
Annette Haratunian Maintenance
Special Acknowledgements
Sunnie Paxson Band
Firm Soundation
Bright Party Rentals
Stage Plus
Commercial Cleaning Services
Ultimate Exposures
Securitas Apache Rental Group
Commencement Day Flowers
University of Redlands
Melinda Jo Sanchez
Phillip Haskins Bon Appetit
Galina Kraus School of Architecture
Mauro Diaz Security Office James Ly Information Technology
Francesca Martin School of Business
Ana Valencia School of Media : Culture : Design
Morgan Queen Student Affairs
Trinity Santillan Associated Students of Woodbury University
Brandon Muse Information Technology
Carolina Watts Disabilities and Accessibility Services
Orlando Diaz
James Padilla
Staff of Woodbury University
Keith Szarabajka
Luis Cano
Deony Pilande
Laurel DiGangi
Dr. Will McConnell
Maira Zepeda-Gomez
Maria Mendez