{"id":224047,"date":"2024-05-13T14:55:15","date_gmt":"2024-05-13T18:55:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/newscenter\/?p=224047"},"modified":"2024-05-15T12:49:39","modified_gmt":"2024-05-15T16:49:39","slug":"spring-commencement-2024-recap-photos-highlights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/newscenter\/2024\/05\/13\/spring-commencement-2024-recap-photos-highlights\/","title":{"rendered":"Spring Commencement 2024 Recap, Photos and Highlights"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u2018You did not accept that things are not possible because they are hard to achieve\u2026\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

With a blizzard of confetti, the 糖心vlog Class of 2024 celebrated its graduation on Monday, May 13, a joyous occasion at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, and one especially savored as many receiving their undergraduate degrees were among the cohort whose high school graduations were disrupted four years ago by the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n

The Montclair graduates included many who are the first in their families to attend college and earn degrees, including the Povolo quintuplets \u2013 Victoria, Ludovico, Ashley, Michael and Marcus \u2013 who made New Jersey history as they graduated from the same college at the same time<\/a>, walking across the dais one after the other. \u201cBeing first gen and graduating together for us is definitely a monumental thing,\u201d said Ashley. \u201cThere\u2019s an immense amount of pride.\u201d<\/p>\n

Two Commencement exercises – in the morning and the afternoon \u2013 were held to celebrate an anticipated 3,648 graduates from 13 colleges and schools that make up 糖心vlog. The graduates hail from 26 states and eight countries, with more than 860 earning advanced degrees. President Jonathan Koppell encouraged the graduates to stay optimistic in their ability to make change in the world and to resist the urge to vilify or dehumanize those with opposing views.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m deeply concerned with the state of the world, but you guys keep the optimistic flame within me burning,\u201d Koppell said. \u201cYou reached this day having overcome challenges. You did not accept that things are not possible because they are hard to achieve\u2026I urge you not to accept that the world cannot be made a better place.\u201d<\/p>\n

The stands were full of proud families all day, with some graduates wearing specially designed stoles highlighting their status as the first in their families to earn a college degree, their experiences as student leaders, their participation in research and other achievements.<\/p>\n