Alizé Scott-Nowell

Jamestown Community College has chosen YWCA Jamestown‘s Social Justice and Racial Equity Director Alizé Scott-Nowell as its 2023 Commencement Speaker

Scott-Nowell is also an adjunct professor at JCC as well as a graduate of the college with an associate of science degree in individual studies. She earned a Bachelor’s in Communication and Sociology and a Masters in American Studies from University at Buffalo.

Scott-Nowell’s current work at YWCA utilizes her expertise to build and implement programs that foster meaningful conversations about social justice issues with people of all ages.

This year’s student commencement speaker is Drew Roggenbaum. Roggenbaum will graduate with an associate’s degree in criminal justice. He is currently president of JCC Student Senate, and a community college representative at the State University of New York Student Assembly.

Roggenbaum plans to continue his education at UB to further his criminal justice and political science studies.

This year’s commencement combines in-person and virtual celebrations to honor graduates from summer 2022, fall 2022, and spring 2023 classes.

The weekend kicks off virtually at 6:00 p.m. on Friday, May 12 at sunyjcc.edu/commencement.

In-person celebrations will take place at 10:00 a.m., May 13 on the Cattaraugus County Campus and at 9:00 a.m., May 14 on the Jamestown Campus.

Katie Castro

Jamestown High School holds its 2022 Commencement ceremony tonight, June 24, at Chautauqua Institution.

This year’s commencement speaker is strategist and social entrepreneur Katie Castro.

For over 14 years, Mrs. Castro has worked in community development and poverty alleviation; maternal-infant healthcare and political lobbying; church mission strategy, NGO incubation, and public relations.

Mrs. Castro is the founder and leads Ally Co. in Jamestown. She has also been a speaker and coach with Women Speakers Collective in Los Angeles, California and worked as a Strategic Lead at Boundless Communications, Toronto, Canada. She holds a Master of Arts in Strategic Leadership from St. Bonaventure University.

The Commencement Ceremony takes place at 7:00 p.m. tonight in the Chautauqua Institution Amphitheater. The ceremony also will be live streamed at www.jpsny.org/graduation.

Dr. Colin Kremer

Jamestown Community College‘s virtual commencement ceremony will feature an ecology and evolutionary biology professor who also is a JCC alumnus as its keynote speaker.

Dr. Colin Kremer is an assistant professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of California, Los Angeles. He is a 2005 summa cum laude graduate of Jamestown Community College, with an associate’s degree in Math and Science. He was inspired by professors at JCC, and subsequent mentors, to pursue research using math and statistics to gain deeper understanding of biology. Kremer went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in Biology and Mathematics from SUNY Geneseo, and a doctorate in Plant Biology and Ecology, Evolutionary Biology and Behavior from Michigan State University.

A prolific author, Kremer currently has 28 peer-reviewed publications to his credit on ecology, evolution, and the conservation of marine ecosystems. He resides in California with his spouse and two young daughters.

JCC’s weekend of ceremonies begins with the virtual commencement at 6 p.m. tonight. This event will be live streamed at sunyjcc.edu/commencement.

On Saturday, graduates will walk across the stage on the Cattaraugus County Campus, and Jamestown Campus grads will be recognized on Sunday.

George Panebianco

JAMESTOWN – Jamestown High School has announced the Commencement Speaker for this year’s graduation ceremony at Chautauqua Institution.

School officials say George Panebianco, Esq. – a 1982 Jamestown High School graduate and long-time supporter of Jamestown Public Schools – will deliver the 2015 commencement on Friday night.

Panebianco is currently the President and Managing Partner of Lewis & Lewis law firm and is responsible for managing five law offices located in Buffalo, Niagara Falls, Batavia, Jamestown and Olean.

Panebianco currently is a member of the New York State Trial Lawyers Association, Erie County Bar Association and Jamestown Bar Association. He also serves as an executive member of the New York State Bar Association’s Worker’s Compensation Committee, aimed at improving the lives of injured workers and accident victims.

In addition to his work at Lewis & Lewis, Panebianco was also chosen to serve as City Court Judge in Jamestown from 2004 to 2014. He is also active in the community, serving on several nonprofit boards including the National Comedy Center, the YMCA of Jamestown and the Italian-American Charity Golf Committee. In addition, he has served as Youth Baseball Coach for over 30 years, including the current Cal Ripken Baseball League.

Jamestown High School’s Commencement Ceremony will be held this Friday at 7 p.m. in the Chautauqua Institution Amphitheater.

FREDONIA – SUNY Fredonia Commencement is slated for tomorrow, May 12, at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m., in the Steele Hall arena on campus. The keynote speaker for both Commencement ceremonies is Washington, D.C., attorney Dale A. Cooter, a SUNY Fredonia alumnus of the Class of 1970.

SUNY Fredonia will also have live streaming video of the Commencement ceremonies. There will be a link to connect from the university’s home page at www.fredonia.edu.

Senior Class President Maggie C. Oliver will speak at both ceremonies and the Lanford Presidential Prize from the Oscar and Esther Lanford Endowment of the Fredonia College Foundation will be awarded to Zhuojun (Georgie) Fu of Shanghai, China, during the morning ceremony. Ms. Fu is graduating Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science degree in Communication-Public Relations, with a second major in Computer Science-Applied Math.

College Council Chair Frank Pagano will offer greetings at both ceremonies.
Music groups performing include the Fredonia Wind Ensemble and Fredonia Wind Symphony, under the direction of Dr. Paula Holcomb. The Fredonia Women’s Choir, under the direction of SUNY Fredonia alumnus Justin Pomietlarz, vocal music director at Amherst High School, will perform, “If,” a work composed by School of Music Director Karl Boelter based on the poem by Rudyard Kipling.

Kyle T. Sackett, who will graduate Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Music degree with a major in Music Education, will sing the national anthem at the morning ceremony, and Tami M. Papagiannopoulos, who will graduate Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Music degree with a major in Music Performance, will sing the national anthem at the afternoon ceremony.