YSU announces Spring 2024 commencement speakers
Youngstown State University’s Spring 2024 commencement will be separated into six ceremonies, one for each college, on May 4 and 5. Each ceremony will feature a ceremony and student speaker. Unless otherwise noted, all ceremonies will be held in Beeghly Center on the YSU campus.
Saturday, May 4
9 a.m. - College of Graduate Studies
Bill Brown, a decorated veteran and YSU graduate will be speaking at the Graduate Studies commencement ceremony. Brown served five years in the military, earning the Distinguished Flying Cross during his service. After his military career, Brown enrolled at YSU where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science, double majoring in Law Enforcement Administration and Nursing in 1977. Brown then received a master’s degree in Health and Safety Education from Indiana University. After receiving his graduate degree, he became director of the Paramedic Program at YSU in 1979. Brown went on to serve in various leadership positions at the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians and received several awards for his national involvement and leadership in emergency medical services.
Student speaker, Judin Balella, who is receiving his Master’s of Arts degree in Professional Communication, is from Ravenna, Italy.
1 p.m. - Bitonte College of Health and Human Services
Joseph Mosca, who served YSU for over 30 years, will give the ceremony speech at the BCHHS commencement ceremony. Mosca began working at YSU as an assistant professor in 1989, eventually becoming chair and then dean of BCHHS. In 2018, Mosca became interim provost and vice president of Academic Affairs until he retired in 2019. Mosca has volunteered as a board member and chairman of several local organizations, currently serving as chairman of Mercy Hospital Board of Directors, and as board member on Help Hotline of Northeast Ohio, the Diocese of Youngstown Diocesan Review Board and Dorothy Day House.
Hannah Newton, of Columbiana, Ohio and earning her Bachelor of Science degree in Medical Laboratory Science, is the student speaker.
5 p.m. - College of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics
Chris Allen, the North American director of Talent Management for Vallourec USA, will give the ceremony speech at the College of STEM commencement. Allen graduated from YSU in 1992 with a degree in Telecommunication Studies. Through Vallourec and his focus on talent acquisition, training and development, Allen works with the students of the STEM College to coach them and give career advice. Allen also serves as the board vice president for the Mahoning Valley Manufacturers Coalition.
Student speaker, Alexa Beyer is from Dewitt, Michigan and will be receiving her Bachelor of Science degree in Astronomy and Physics.
Sunday, May 5
9 a.m. - Beeghly College of Liberal Arts, Social Sciences and Education
Ashley Anderson, who graduated from YSU in 2007 with a degree in Psychology, will give the ceremony speech at the BCLASSE commencement. Anderson’s master’s thesis research at the Monterey Institute of International Studies in California led to an internship with the United Nations’s High Commissioner for Refugees. She then became a consultant on migration, human trafficking and forced labor for the International Labour Organization. She went on to work in Ghana, Burkina Faso, Somalia and Turkey with the U.N. to aid refugees and was selected in the Junior Professional Officer program within the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration. Anderson currently works as an associate communications officer with the U.N. Refugee Agency in Istanbul.
Nathaniel Strobel of Canfield, Ohio is the student speaker and will receive his Bachelor of Arts in History.
1 p.m. - Williamson College of Business Administration
Dexter Caffey, a YSU graduate and the CEO of Smart Eye Technology, Inc., will give the ceremony speech at the WCBA commencement. Caffey graduated from YSU in 1995 with a Bachelors of Science in Business Administration in Finance, after which Caffey founded an alternative investment firm in 1998. Over the span of 23 years, he collaborated with major publicly traded U.S. companies through his firm, Caffey Investment Group. In 2018, Caffey founded Smart Eye Technology, a biometric authentication platform that utilizes continuous facial recognition, voice recognition and other biometrics to authenticate users.
Student speaker, Annabelle Himes, will receive her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree in Human Resource Management, and is from Canfield, Ohio.
5 p.m. - Cliffe College of Creative Arts (The Cliffe ceremony will be held in Bliss Hall)
Larry Davis earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from YSU in 1976. Davis began a decades-long career with the Walt Disney Company, holding numerous positions in a variety of roles. In 1986, Davis began pursuing his own design firm, stepping away from Disney. During this time, he was represented by several Los Angeles based art galleries as well as New York. Davis eventually returned to Disney where he continued creating art, including a commission piece for a 17-foot-tall outdoor sculpture in Burbank; and shows in Los Angeles, Pasadena, Highland Park and Portland, Oregon. In his time at Disney, Davis traveled around the world and even relocated to Shanghai to work as executive producer and creative director for the Shanghai Disneyland Main Entrance. Upon retirement in 2016, he moved back to Los Angeles to begin the next phase of his life, while continuing to work on a new series of sculptures. He recently showed several of the new pieces at The Pershing Square Building Art Galleries in downtown Los Angeles.
From Hicksville, Ohio, Gunnar Carwile is the student speaker and will receive his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Theater.