Cranford, NJ – UCNJ Union College of Union County, NJ held its spring commencement ceremonies for the class of 2025 on May 21 at the College’s Cranford Campus. There were two ceremonies to accommodate more than 700 graduates and their families. UCNJ President Dr. Margaret M. McMenamin presided over the commencement ceremonies.
The ceremonies included the conferral of Associate Degree in Science, Arts, Applied Science, Certificates, and Certificates of Achievement, and a presentation of the Alumni Prize and the Post-Day Memorial Award. These special recognitions highlighted graduates who demonstrated academic excellence, leadership, and involvement in extracurricular activities. The UCNJ celebrations included presentation of awards and the traditional address to the graduating class.
In the morning ceremony, the Alumni Prize was presented to Reynaldo Bautista, a computer science graduate from Elizabeth. The Post-Day Memorial Award was presented to students Omowonuola Oyedele, an engineering major from Woodbridge and Odudu Ekpenyong, a computer science major from Springfield. Ekpenyong was selected as a recipient of the national Jack Kent Cooke Foundation transfer scholarship which can provide him with as much as $55,000 a year to complete a bachelor’s degree. The ceremonies included a student speaker to represent the graduating class. The student speaker for the first ceremony was Jackson Donzella, who earned his degree in chemistry and is from Plainfield.
In the afternoon ceremony, the Alumni Prize was presented to Griffin Cederquist, a psychology graduate from Plainfield. The Post-Day Memorial Award was presented to Yarddy Jaramillo, President of the College’s Phi Theta Kappa honor society chapter and business major from Newark, and Rachel Sweet, a psychology major from Cranford. Sweet was one of two students who received this year’s Margolies Family Transfer Scholarship to support her bachelor’s degree attainment. The student speaker for the second ceremony was Faris Gabriel Areqiat, who earned his degree in computer science and is from Elizabeth.
“UCNJ’s Class of 2025 represents a group of high achieving and hardworking students. I congratulate them on their academic achievements and earning their associate degrees at UCNJ. We are committed to helping all students graduate and supporting their economic mobility. Whether they continue their education at a 4-year institution or enter the workforce, I look forward to seeing where their journey continues” stated UCNJ’s President Dr. Margaret M. McMenamin.
UCNJ is a public comprehensive community college that provides quality, affordable, accessible educational programs to the greater Union County region. It is the first of New Jersey’s 18 two-year colleges, serving both career-minded and transfer-oriented students since 1933. The College offers a wide variety of academic programs and extracurricular activities. UCNJ provides many experiential learning opportunities such as access to the Bloomberg Business Center, Innovation Center, and Student Research Lab. Additionally, students at UCNJ attend one of the top 10 community colleges in the country as designated by the Aspen Institute College Excellence Program. To learn more about UCNJ, visit www.ucc.edu.
