2017 Spring Commencement
It was the perfect day for an outdoor graduation at Brooklyn Bridge Park, as almost 400 St. Francis College students and thousands of friends and family celebrated the College’ s Spring 2017 Commencement on May 24.
This is the third year St. Francis held its graduation on the water, taking advantage of a beautiful Brooklyn Bridge and downtown Manhattan backdrop to frame the ceremony.
Undergraduate Valedictorian Arber Sejdiu’ 17, a Psychology Major and member of the College’ s Pre-Health Professions Program said,“ Our class of 2017 consists of some of the smartest and most creative minds, and some of the hardest working and kindest souls that I have ever met in my life.”
An Albanian-American whose family comes from Kosovo and now lives on Staten Island, Arber was a member of the Duns Scotus honor
Valedictorians Arber Sejdiu’ 17 and Sandra Raickovic’ 17 with Interim President Timothy Houlihan at The River Café before the commencement ceremony.
society, Treasurer of Psi Chi Honor Society chapter and the Psychology club, President of the English Club, and the Editor-in-Chief of The Montage— a student run literary magazine. He also interned with the American Red Cross. He hopes to bridge the fields of psychiatry and medicine by going to medical school and doing dual residencies to become both a psychiatrist and neurologist.
The Valedictorian for Graduate Programs, Sandra Raickovic’ 17, earned a Bachelor’ s and Master’ s Degree in Accounting. Raickovic worked for three years as a Corporate Tax intern at JP Morgan Chase and is now working in the auditing division at Deloitte. A native of Belgrade, Serbia, Raickovic was attracted to St. Francis College by academics and athletics, a combination that earned her a full scholarship. A former world class athlete, Sandra competed on the College’ s Track and Field team in the Triple Jump and Long Jump for four years. Before coming to St. Francis she competed internationally as a professional, representing Serbia as a Finalist at the first Youth
Olympic Games in Singapore in 2010 among other world competitions. The graduates were also welcomed into the ranks of the alumni by Sarah M. Bratton Hughes’ 07 who has now completed her term as President of the Alumni Board of Directors. ●
Spring Commencement Ceremony— https:// youtu. be / qCtK7nz1Z1g Meet the Graduates— https:// youtu. be / 7P _ jA1skj5E
In place of a standard commencement address, Pulitzer Prize winning poet Tracy K. Smith read her commissioned poem, Garden of Eden, a poem she hoped would prompt the graduates to reflect on this time in their life. Shortly after the ceremony Smith was named the 22nd U. S. Poet Laureate.
Some of the Class of 2017, Spring Commencement.
Education majors share their teaching pride on their graduation caps.
6 ST. FRANCIS COLLEGE TERRIER | FALL 2017 | VOLUME 81, NUMBER 1