Class of 2024: “Simply Amazing”
Over 1200 Degrees Conferred at Spring Commencement Ceremony
On Thursday, May 16, 2024, Farmingdale State College (FSC) held its 103rd spring commencement ceremony at the Nold Hall Athletic Complex.
Presiding over the exercises were FSC President John S. Nader, PhD; Senior Vice President and Provost Laura Joseph, EdD; College Council Chair Patricia Hill Williams, EdD; Associate Professor of Business Management Martin Lewison, PhD, as master of ceremonies; and Dr. Keith Landa, State University of New York (SUNY) trustee and president of the University Faculty Senate.
This May, FSC proudly conferred nearly 1300 degrees, including:
- Bachelors: 1086
- Masters: 8
- Associates: 177
- Advanced Certificates: 18
The Class of 2024’s success at FSC was marked with a powerful commitment to inclusion, service, and opportunity, said President Nader, who was warmly acknowledged with applause for his eight years of leadership and dedication to FSC.
“FSC students share the core values of grit, gratitude and grace,” said President Nader, sharing a quote from FSC Internship Advisor Lisa Lubrano. “It is no wonder that this College, and its students, have experienced transformational change over the past four years. We—and you-- have made service and civic engagement a part of our institutional fabric, and it shows in countless ways.”
President Nader highlighted the community service efforts of students in several FSC departments, programs, and organizations, including FSC’s Nursing Department’s involvement in Heart Screen New York; the Dental Hygiene Program’s involvement in Give Kids A Smile; and the Architecture and Construction Club’s involvement in CANstruction, a unique hunger relief program.
“FSC students really are distinctively different, both in the challenges they face and in the drive they exhibit,” added President Nader.
Class of 2024 Valedictorian Tamiya Gordon, ’24, a bioscience major, detailed the challenges she faced while navigating high school, where her teachers told her she “would never make it.” But with support from her loved ones, her professors, and FSC’s Collegiate Science and Technology Entry Program (CSTEP), Gordon’s time at FSC was fueled by her passion for science, her community service projects, FSC’s commitment to diversity and inclusion, and her class’s shared “resilience, growth, and unwavering determination,” she said.
“Here we stand, on the precipice of greatness, poised to embark on the next chapter of our journey,” she said. “As we look to the future, let us carry with us the lessons we have learned here—the importance of perseverance, the power of community, and the limitless potential that resides within each and every one of us.”
President Nader noted FSC’s first class of 1919 and its long history as “an oasis of inclusion and an engine of opportunity.” Today, FSC continues to lead with new degree programs in computer science, health care, and civil engineering; near perfect pass rates for multiple professional exams; ranking third nationally in the number of degrees awarded to underrepresented minorities and eighth in degrees awarded to women; ranking in the top five colleges nationally for promoting social mobility; and “my personal favorite, over 60% of this class will graduate with a degree and debt free,” President Nader said.
“Farmingdale students--you are simply amazing,” he concluded.
“Getting to meet and interact with hundreds--maybe thousands--of you over the past eight years has been the absolute highlight of my four decades in the SUNY (State University of New York) system,” he added. “You have made our time here joyous. You are my source of endless optimism in a pessimistic age. So, I thank you...for being yourselves.”
