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��������Ƶ will begin its Commencement ceremonies when the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences holds its ceremony at 9 a.m. Thursday, May 15, in the Anderson Center’s Osterhout Concert Theater. The Doctoral Hooding Ceremony and remaining ceremonies for each of the University’s schools, including three separate Harpur College of Arts and Sciences ceremonies, will follow, running through Saturday, May 17. The Doctoral Hooding Ceremony will be held at 12:30 p.m. Thursday, May 15 in the Osterhout Concert Theater. All other ceremonies will be held in the Events Center.

Student speakers will represent their peers at the ceremonies. Read about the 12 students who will take the podium during the 2025 ceremonies.

They appear in the order of the ceremonies where they will speak.

School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences

9 a.m. Thursday, May 15, Anderson Center Osterhout Concert Theater

Nicholas Lukan

With an associate degree in pre-medical studies from SUNY Orange, Nicholas Lukan fell in love with pharmacy while working as a pharmacy technician at Walgreens. He enjoyed the community aspect of pharmacy.

“I got to see how pharmacists help and impact patients,” Lukan said. “You see them on a one-on-one basis, you meet with them face to face. You see their personal life, what’s going on with them, and how, with that information, you can help them manage their life and their medications and their diseases.”

During his time at Binghamton, Lukan participated in several community events, including vaccination clinics, a drug take-back day at Otsiningo Park, and diabetes and heart disease awareness events on Binghamton’s main campus.

Following graduation, he will build on his education through a residency program at Montefiore St. Luke’s Cornwall Hospital in Newburgh, N.Y.

“I wouldn’t have been able to do this program without the people I’ve met during this program, my family, and the teachers and mentors I’ve met along the way,” he said. “I’ve had great mentors who inspired me to get to where I am, who give me examples of why I want to keep doing this.”

Decker College of Nursing and Health Sciences

4:30 p.m. Thursday, May 15, Events Center

Nandini Patel

Bachelor of Science in Nursing

Nandini Patel knew she wanted to go into the healthcare field from a young age.

“I’ve always loved taking care of people,” Patel said.

She jumped at the chance to help sick family members, making them soup or helping them rehabilitate after surgery. Her older sister is a nurse, and Patel said she has admired her work. After exploring different options in the healthcare field, she determined that nursing was what she wanted to pursue.

When Patel toured Binghamton’s campus, she saw the new Health Sciences Building that was about to open and was impressed by all of the resources available to nursing students.

“I was so excited by the opportunity to be able to use those facilities, and I knew right away that this was a school I wanted to go to,” she said.

Once on campus, Patel threw herself into her classes, finding opportunities to explore many facets of nursing. She has developed an interest in critical care and emergency medicine, although she said she has found things she likes about every specialty she’s had the chance to work in.

“The opportunities I’ve had in clinical experiences to integrate myself into different nursing specialties have really strengthened my love for healthcare,” she said.

In addition to classes, Patel volunteers in a local hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit and works as an emergency-room technician.

Jenna Fiorentino

Bachelor of Science in Nursing

Jenna Fiorentino earned her first bachelor’s degree in biomedical sciences from City College of New York. When she decided that pre-med was no longer the track she wanted to pursue, she enrolled in the Decker College of Nursing and Health Sciences baccalaureate accelerated track (BAT) program.

“I’ve always been interested in the healthcare field, so I knew I wanted to stay within that realm,” Fiorentino said. “A friend who graduated from Binghamton told me about the BAT program, so I applied and I absolutely loved it.”

She soon found that nursing was the ideal profession for her. Fiorentino has worked as a student ambassador, representing Decker College at special events such as prospective-student sessions and open-house events. She is completing her capstone, which requires 216 clinical hours, in pediatrics.

“I love getting to interact with the kids, and I love seeing their resilience. It’s just really awesome.”

Following graduation, Fiorentino will be applying for pediatric nursing jobs.

Stephanie Manning

Master of Science in Nursing as a community health nurse practitioner

After completing an associate degree at Corning ��������Ƶ College, Stephanie Manning enrolled in Binghamton’s online RN-BSN program because of the flexibility it offered her as a nontraditional student who was also working professionally in the Corning, N.Y., area. She graduated with her Bachelor of Science degree in nursing in 2023. Deciding to continue on in the Family Nurse Practitioner master’s degree program was an easy choice.

“The faculty is exemplary, and they have a lot of depth and diversity,” she said. She was also attracted by The Rural and Underserved Service Track (TRUST), a collaboration between Decker College of Nursing and Health Sciences, the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, the Department of Social Work, SUNY Upstate Medical University and the community, with the goal of developing a group of healthcare professionals dedicated to caring for rural, underserved populations through interprofessional teamwork.

“The western part of New York, and the central Southern Tier area is very rural,” Manning said. “I see a lot of the social determinants of health that we face and rural communities’ lack of access to specialty providers, primary health and emergency medical services. By educating myself as one of those up-and-coming providers, I can bring my services back to the area that I’m living in and try to bridge some of those gaps that we’re seeing and that I’ve experienced.”

Following graduation, Manning will work for Guthrie in the emergency departments at Corning Hospital and Robert Packer Hospital in Sayre, Pa. She also plans to continue her educational journey, pursuing a doctor of nursing practice degree through Decker College.

“I really appreciate how supportive the faculty have been — watching them pursue their own research and allowing us to have a vested interest in it, and the reciprocity that they have an interest in our research and our success,” she said. “Their support is important and I appreciate everything that they’ve done to help prepare us for the for the next level.”

Thomas J. Watson College of Engineering and Applied Science

8:30 a.m. Friday, May 16, Events Center

Christian Martinez

Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering

When choosing between ��������Ƶ and Stony Brook University, which is near his hometown of Centereach, N.Y. on Long Island, Christian Martinez said the chance for more independence, Binghamton’s reputation as a public Ivy and the opportunity to join the Watson College Scholars Program helped him make his decision.

The Watson College Scholars Program provides high-impact opportunities and academic support to underrepresented students pursuing graduate study or a professional career in engineering or computer science. As a first-generation college student, Martinez found the program beneficial.

“They’ve been very helpful with giving me opportunities to network with companies, the sponsors of the program and also faculty,” he said. “I’m the first person in my family to go to a four-year college, so all of this was very new to me, and I’m incredibly grateful to have been a part of that.”

As a first-year student, he served as president of Old Digman on the Dickinson Town Council, which led to working for Residential Life as a resident assistant and then a student support assistant for the remainder of his time at Binghamton. He works with first-year engineering students in the Watson Engineering Learning ��������Ƶ in Mountainview College.

“My floor is the only floor on campus that has almost entirely Watson first-year students,” Martinez said. “I’ve done that for three years, so I see a lot of those students around Watson College, which is awesome.”

Martinez secured an internship at Lockheed Martin following his sophomore year, and has been working there part-time since then. Following graduation, he will stay in the area and begin a full-time position at the Owego, N.Y., Lockheed Martin location.

Osamah Ali Yaeesh

Master of Science in Systems Science and Industrial Engineering

Osamah Ali Yaeesh completed his undergraduate degree in industrial engineering at Jordan University of Science and Technology in Irbid, Jordan. After working for two years as an engineer at a pharmaceutical company in Jordan, he decided to pursue a master’s degree and found the perfect opportunity in the Watson Institute for Systems Excellence (WISE).

WISE gives graduate students the opportunity to work with federal and industry sponsors to conduct innovative industry-based research, earning real-life experience and making invaluable contacts. Yaeesh found a position at Oak Orchard Health in Brockport, N.Y., where he works as a data scientist in the healthcare industry.

Yaeesh is passionate about doing research in his field and has presented at numerous conferences, including the 2024 Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers (IISE) annual conference in Montreal and the 2025 Healthcare Systems Process Improvement (HSPI) Annual Conference in Atlanta, where he presented a machine learning model he built to predict the vaccination demand in a rural area.

Following graduation, Yaeesh hopes to continue his involvement in the industrial engineering field, either professionally or through pursuing a doctorate degree.

“My priority is to build cutting-edge machine learning models and analyze data to help stakeholders make data-driven decisions,” Yaeesh said. “Ultimately, I want to continue working closely with data and numbers. I’m open to seeing what the future might hold, whether that means continuing in healthcare or exploring other opportunities.”

College of ��������Ƶ and Public Affairs

1 p.m. Friday, May 16, Events Center

Stephanie Sandleitner

Bachelor of Science in Social Work

Stephanie Sandleitner’s first job at 14 was working on a farm in her hometown of Jewett, N.Y., where she learned that she deeply valued human interaction, often carrying on long conversations with customers who would briefly stop by to purchase farm produce.

This experience led her to pursue a degree program in which she could connect with people and make change in their lives: social work.

“I initially came in undecided and by the second year, I applied to the Bachelor of Social Work program after hearing about the program in an interview,” Sandleitner said. “It was a pretty quick transition to figuring out what I wanted to do. I’ve loved working with every person I’ve met since.”

She was involved on campus in Alpha Kappa Psi co-ed business fraternity, Best Buddies, Title IX Peer Advising and as a Student Association Advocate, where she helped students navigate the Student Conduct process.

She is now completing a field placement at the Broome County Public Defender’s Office, where she has gained valuable insight into the legal system, collaborating with office attorneys and investigators. Her time there has strengthened her passion for investigative work, which she plans to pursue post-graduation.

“I’m planning to enter law enforcement with the ultimate goal of becoming an investigator. Increasingly, social work is being integrated into our legal system,” Sandleitner said. “For example, in domestic violence cases, police officers are often assisted by social workers on scene. I believe this collaboration offers an incredible opportunity to apply my degree in a meaningful way within the criminal justice system.”

Shahdukht Tapesh

Master of Science in Human Rights

A native of Afghanistan, Shahdukht Tapesh arrived in Binghamton after completing an undergraduate degree in human rights at American University of Central Asia in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. She was able to pursue that degree because of a scholarship funded by the U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan, before it suspended operations in 2021. Following her graduation, she was awarded the Qatar Scholarship for Afghans Project (QSAP), a fully funded program that enables Afghan refugee students to pursue higher education in the United States. The scholarship is made possible through a collaboration between the Afghan Future Fund, the Education Above All Foundation and the Institute of International Education.

“I couldn’t go back to Afghanistan due to the ban on the education of women and the political erasure of women from Afghanistan by the new government,” Tapesh said. “As a girl studying human rights through a U.S. Embassy scholarship, my life was increasingly at risk in Afghanistan. So I was given the opportunity to get resettled to the U.S., where I could be safe.”

Arriving in Binghamton was a culture shock, as she had never heard of the school or the city. Adjusting to a new place and trying to navigate it all with minimal resources and no friends to rely on was a challenge, but she persevered and within six months had adjusted.

She eventually joined the Graduate Student Organization, Muslim Student Organization and Central Asian Student Association, which connected her with peers, and she also found a sense of connection as a research assistant for Suzy Lee, the director of the Human Rights program, and working with the Alexandra Moore, the director of the Human Rights Institute.

She spent a semester in New York City through the SUNY Global Engagement Program (GEP), completing an internship and research project on humanitarian cash assistance for refugees. This was another period of adjustment, but also gave her key insights into some of the technical skills she needed to develop to better prepare for the job market. When she returned to campus she started taking some digital and data studies courses and founded the Binghamton United Nations Association, a student organization dedicated to teaching students about global affairs and the United Nations’s mission on sustainable development goals.

As she approaches graduation, her mind is on the women in Afghanistan who are not able to pursue an education.

“Afghan girls and women are banned from everything in Afghanistan. They cannot go to school. They cannot work. They don’t have a part in political life. So I am organizing a group of Binghamton students who would like to dedicate their degrees as a symbolized gesture of honoring girls in Afghanistan who couldn’t graduate, to say, “We graduate for you!’”

School of Management

4:30 p.m. Friday, May 16, Events Center

Natalie Khalil

Master of Business Administration, marketing concentration

When Natalie Khalil first visited ��������Ƶ, she knew she had found the place that would shape her future. Drawn in by its academic reputation and welcoming atmosphere, she saw Binghamton not just as a school, but as a space where she could grow into herself.

“I came here with a strong work ethic, but I didn’t yet know where I wanted it to take me,” Khalil said. “Binghamton gave me the room to figure that out.”

Now, as she graduates with her Master of Business Administration with a concentration in marketing, Khalil reflects on a journey filled with personal discovery and purpose-driven action.

Raised in Beacon, N.Y., by two immigrant parents from Jordan, Khalil carries a deep appreciation for hard work, opportunity and giving back. That mindset has guided her involvement on campus, especially in her role as a marketing graduate assistant in Binghamton’s Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.

In that role, she developed marketing strategies for University events, coordinated outreach efforts and analyzed engagement data, all while helping foster a more inclusive campus culture. Her experience has also given her the chance to come up with ideas and run with them, such as a clothing drive she is hosting that runs through early May and will benefit ��������Ƶ students and students in the Binghamton City School District.

“It’s really fun coming up with ideas and executing them,” she said. “I wanted to do something more concrete that would directly give back to students and to the community, as well.”

Khalil’s time at Binghamton has been about more than just academics. It’s where she discovered the kind of leader she wants to be, one who acts with intention, builds community and sees the bigger picture.

“I’ve gained a much broader perspective on life and my experiences this year,” she said. “I’ve been more focused on what I really want to do with my future.”

Harpur College of Arts and Sciences 1

8:30 a.m. Saturday, May 17, Events Center

Michael Lulaj

Bachelor of Arts in Psychology

Michael Lulaj’s approach to planning his life has largely encompassed opening many doors to possibility and seeing what sticks. Graduating from high school at the end of the COVID-19 pandemic left him feeling a little uncertain what to pursue, so he applied to many schools. He ended up choosing Binghamton partly because he was accepted into the First-year Research Immersion (FRI) program, which he believed would be beneficial to his planned-on pre-med track.

Ultimately, he decided pre-med wasn’t for him, but he still values the FRI experience, saying he met a lot of great friends and it prepared him well for future coursework. During his sophomore year he made the transition into psychology, based on reflection that showed him he valued personal interaction.

“I hit a breaking point. I didn’t quite know what I wanted to do yet, but I knew it was going to be in more of a business, interpersonal, people-oriented space,” Lulaj said.

His involvement on campus and through various internships helped shape that realization. He worked as marketing director of the Student Association Programming Board, as a content creator for ��������Ƶ’s TikTok team and as a peer consultant in the Fleishman Center for Career and Professional Development, where he enjoyed helping students craft narratives to optimize their job and internship searches. He also worked as a marketing intern at WundaBar Pilates and at Visions Federal Credit Union in the Administration Office, People & Culture team.

“My experiences led me to get an internship at an asset management firm in New York City in the human resources department,” Lulaj said. “Human Resources wasn’t necessarily on my radar, but I throw my hat out where I can and I just see what sticks, because I think that’s all you really can do.”

Lulaj is enrolled in the 4+1 MBA program in the School of Management. Once he finishes that degree, he will pursue a career in either human resources or marketing and communications. He looks forward to finding ways to build community and impact people in whatever directions his career takes him.

Harpur College of Arts and Sciences 2

12:30 p.m. Saturday, May 17, Events Center

Veronica Raffaele

Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy, Politics and Law and Spanish

Originally from Milan, Italy, Veronica Raffaele immigrated to Rochester, N.Y., with her family 12 years ago and chose ��������Ƶ because of its unique philosophy, politics and law program.

“I knew I wanted to go to law school,” she said. “I was looking into a lot of philosophy programs and was also drawn to political science because I’ve always been passionate about politics. So when I saw this major that combined the two, I was immediately intrigued.”

Outside of the classroom, Raffaele found many opportunities to expand on her interests. She is the vice president of Evolution Dance Company, a student-run organization representing more than 200 dancers of all styles and levels. She is a co-founder and the treasurer of the ��������Ƶ Moot Court Team, which is similar to mock trial, but focuses on appellate court as opposed to trial court. She is also an intern for the Binghamton Policy Project, whose upcoming blueprint includes a policy to provide resources to support immigrant students.

As a SUNY coalition coordinator with the Student Association and intern with the Cornell Contribution Project, she passed a student senate resolution at ��������Ƶ in support of Documented Dreamers, or children of long-term visa holders who have aged out of dependent status and must either self-deport or switch to a student visa. This also reflected her ongoing work with Improve the Dream, an organization that advocates for young immigrants in the United States. After passing the resolution at Binghamton, she collaborated with several other SUNY schools to help their student governments approve mirror resolutions and educate their student bodies about the issue and how individuals can get involved — positioning Binghamton as a leader in this initiative.

An honors student in the Pell Honors Program, Raffaele developed and defended her thesis, “Refugee Integration Bonds: A Pragmatic Solution to the Global Refugee Crisis — Private Investment,” under Professor Charles Goodman’s advisement and received honors.

Following a gap year, during which she’ll be working with Arcadis, an engineering consultant company in the law and policy sector, Raffaele plans to pursue law school.

“I’m still exploring options, but if I go into policy or administrative work, I’ll likely work in immigration issues. If I go toward law, I’ll probably pursue appellate or criminal law.”

Harpur College of Arts and Sciences 3

4:30 p.m. Saturday, May 17, Events Center

Hawa Fofana

Bachelor of Science in Global Public Health and Bachelor of Arts in Biological Sciences
Minor in Africana Studies

Hawa Fofana said she has always had “a deep interest and passion for learning more about the world and connecting with people from different countries.” Fofana, who originally intended to major in international relations, decided to concentrate on global public health, primarily because of her life experiences.

“I grew up in a low-income community in the Bronx, and I ended up moving to The Gambia when I was 13,” Fofana said. “They were two seemingly different communities, but they were united in the fact that they’re both low income and the people were struggling for basic rights and resources, and one of those is healthcare. That motivated me to pursue global public health, to shorten that gap and make healthcare, which is a basic human right, more accessible.”

Fofana found community at Binghamton through her involvement with the African Student Organization and the X-Fact’r Step Team, on which she served as president and vice president, helping to orchestrate its annual show.

“I met so many amazing people there from so many different places. We all just came together and had a creative outlet, which I think is what we all needed: to step away from our academics and just do something that we enjoy.”

Following graduation, Fofana will intern with a group of researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, who are further developing the healthcare data system in Guyana for the Guyanese Ministry of Health. She hopes to take what she learns from that experience and have the opportunity to apply it in The Gambia, where she’d like to return to work one day.