UC’s summer graduates prepare for new chapter

The University of Cincinnati doctoral student speaks from experience. Nuñez was sent to an alternative discipline school and spent time in foster care. On Friday, he will be hooded and receive his doctoral degree in clinical psychology from a Research 1 university in front of his wife, Silvia, and a packed house at Fifth Third Arena for summer commencement.

Nuñez will share his perspective as the student speaker for UC’s doctoral hooding and master’s recognition ceremony.

“I keep saying I’m fortunate,” Nuñez said. “I don’t want to diminish my effort. I put in countless long nights working at the computer and in the lab. But I benefited immensely from the generosity of others — helping me, guiding me. And ultimately it was that support and mentorship that allowed me to reach this point.”

UC’s summer commencement kicks off at 9 a.m. Aug. 4 with the ceremony recognizing doctoral and master’s students. Doors at Fifth Third Arena open at 7:30 a.m. Tickets are required for all guests. The arena allows only clear plastic bags.

The undergraduate ceremony follows at 2 p.m. Doors for the event open at 12:30 p.m.

Both ceremonies will be livestreamed on UC's Commencement website.

Nuñez credits his semester at the alternative school for sparking his interest in psychology. There he met a younger child who had assumed the role of parenting his younger siblings, packing lunches and getting them to school.

“He was 11 or 12 years old. It took eight months for anyone to notice all these kids were alone,” Nuñez said. “It left a mark on me about what kids go through and what they’re able to do in those circumstances.”

Graduates in the class of 2023 had much to celebrate, despite persevering through a global pandemic.

The 2022 academic year kicked off with the opening of the new home for UC’s College of Law after 18 months and $45 million in renovations, including the new Honorable Sandra S. Beckwith Courtroom, named for the UC alumna who was the first woman appointed to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio.

The two-time defending national championship Bearcat was nominated to the Mascot Hall of Fame. UC’s cheerleading team won back-to-back national championship titles in competition in Orlando, Florida. And UC’s Discats, the disc golf team, are national champions in both team and singles competition after beating 80 other schools this year in Marion, North Carolina.

And in July UC officially joined the Big 12 conference.

UC opened its new Digital Futures building in 2022 as a collaborative research hub for science and industry. And UC unveiled a new Esports Innovation Lab in the 1819 Innovation Hub.

Earlier this year, UC’s Calhoun Residence Hall reopened after an $80 million renovation. The hall can accommodate 800 students. Each of its 13 residential floors has a light-filled common area where students can meet and socialize.

UC created a new College of Cooperative Education and Professional Studies. It builds on the model that Dean Herman Schneider pioneered in 1906 in which students spend part of the year in the classroom and part of the year working full time at employers in their chosen fields.

UC was named the nation’s top public university for co-op by U.S. News & World Report in its latest rankings.

UC’s summer graduation is always the smallest of the year. Still, UC will award 2,014 degrees to 2,007 graduates. (Some grads earn multiple degrees.)

UC will award 179 associate degrees, 676 bachelor’s degrees, 975 master’s degrees and 184 doctoral degrees. Nearly half of degrees are in science, technology, engineering, math or medicine.

Summer commencement will honor 266 first-generation college students, 46 graduates from Cincinnati Public Schools and 82 student veterans or dependents of veterans.

Six students also celebrate their birthday Friday.

Graduates hail from 48 countries across five continents and 46 U.S. states including Ohio, the state that 1,128 summer grads call home.

For Lily Botsyoe, the future of digital technology is about trust. Can we trust devices, websites and services to protect our privacy?

“I’m focusing on privacy engineering,” she said. “As technology majors, there’s a need for us to show that humans can trust technology and that it doesn’t have a negative impact on people.”

She earned a master’s degree from the School of Information Technology in UC’s College of Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services. Her family back home in Ghana, West Africa, will be watching the doctoral hooding and master’s recognition ceremony via UC’s livestream.

Commencement will be extra special for first-generation student Michele Mensah, who has family coming in from Ghana for the ceremony.

Mensah was a recipient of a Choose Ohio First scholarship, which is awarded to incoming Ohio freshman entering into engineering, science, mathematics, medical sciences or nursing fields. Mensah earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology in UC’s College of Arts and Sciences. She would like to pursue a doctorate in clinical psychology.

“Those five years went by fast,” she said.

Mensah took part in UC’s Summer Bridge Program, seven weeks of introductory classes that help students prepare for their first year in college. Later, she volunteered with the program.

Naturally introverted, Mensah said she got more out of campus life when she started getting more involved.

“I think campus life is what you make of it. I recommend putting your foot out the door to make your experience everything you want it to be,” she said.

Her parents emigrated from Ghana to the United States. She grew up in Georgia, where she was born, before coming to Ohio where she went to high school.

She changed majors from biology to psychology after deciding she didn’t want to go to medical school. Her experience is hardly unique. About one-third of college students change majors at least once.

But Mensah said she was afraid her decision would disappoint her family.

“I realized the reason I wanted to become a doctor was for my family rather than because it was what I really wanted to do,” she said. “They actually took it better than I thought they would. They wanted me to do what made me happy.”

Her advice to high school students is to be open-minded when they go to college.

“We often think we know what we want to pursue. But it’s hard to ask an 18 year old to choose what they will do for the rest of their life,” she said. “So be open-minded to the possibilities.”

Mensah said she can’t wait to celebrate commencement with her family.

“Everyone wants to make their parents proud. But that’s especially the case for a first-gen college student,” Mensah said. “My mom is making a big deal about my graduation. She says she’s going to be dancing on stage with me.”

UC Clermont student Brooke Kieffer is earning an associate degree in health information systems to learn medical billing and coding.

The U.S. Air Force veteran retired from military nursing in 2021 before enrolling at UC to kickstart a new beginning in health care administration. After concluding a military career that took her from Alaska to Texas and Mississippi, Kieffer went back to college at the same time one of her five sons enrolled at Kent State University.

“After retiring, I could make my own choices. I thought I would do something in health care administration to take advantage of my experience,” she said.

She credits Director Glenda Neff at UC Career Services for helping her navigate the next chapter of her life.

“She was so dang helpful with resume writing and interviews. She was awesome. She is the whole package,” Kieffer said.

Kieffer said she is a strong believer in lifelong learning. Previously, she earned a master’s degree in nursing. Kieffer has served in a variety of nursing positions, including flight medicine where she cared for pilots and their families.

At the regional campus UC Clermont, Kieffer was able to take online classes from her home in Garrettsville outside Cleveland, Ohio.

“This gave me the flexibility to work from home and still take the kids to soccer or football,” she said.

“A lot of my classmates are still working full-time jobs. They can change their schedule to suit their needs,” she said. “Life happens, too. It’s definitely a balance.”

Kieffer said it’s not easy trying something completely new, but she is excited about what the future holds.

“My advice is don’t stay in a job where you hate going to work every day. Stress is hard on your body and you don’t see those effects until later,” she said. “So don’t wait. If there is something you want to pursue, do the research and make it happen.”

Featured image at top: UC will celebrate its summer commencement Friday at Fifth Third Arena. Photo/Andrew Higley/UC Marketing + Brand