Fall 2025 Commencement Set for Dec. 13

Fall 2025 Commencement Set for Dec. 13

KUTZTOWN, Pa. - Nearly 450 students will be awarded degrees during Kutztown University's fall commencement ceremony at 9 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 13, O'Pake Fieldhouse. Dr. Philip Cavalier, university president, and Dr. Lorin Basden Arnold, provost and senior vice president for Academic Affairs, will preside.

The ceremony celebrates undergraduate and graduate degree recipients and will feature two student speakers and a faculty speaker. Summia Shah, computer science, will serve as the graduate student speaker; Tesia N. Campbell, communication studies, will serve as the undergraduate student speaker; Dr. Alexander D. Hernandez, assistant professor of biology, will serve as the faculty speaker.

Kutztown University will provide complete coverage, including live video, photos and more, of its commencement ceremony. A special thank you to students and professors from the Department of Cinema, Television and Media Production for teaming with the Office of University Relations to provide Saturday's live coverage. Further information on commencement coverage can be found on the commencement coverage website.

Graduate Speaker

Summia Shah of Allentown, Pa., graduates with a Master of Science in computer science with a concentration in software development. She previously earned a Bachelor of Science in software engineering from the University of Portsmouth, U.K., in 2019. After completing her undergraduate degree, she worked as a software engineer at Blueteq Ltd., where she modernized systems and implemented object-oriented programming principles. She later completed a Master of Business Administration with a focus on business computing and analytics from DeSales University in 2023.

During her time at KU, Shah served as a graduate assistant in the Office of the Vice Provost, where she worked as an information technology project manager. In this role, she analyzed and mapped reporting workflows. She also completed a Power Platform certificate to support her research into AI tools and collaborated with the marketing team to improve visibility and usability of KU ADVANCE's online presence.

In addition, Shah completed several independent and academic projects, including a cryptocurrency analytics web application, and a systems-level project focusing on inter-process communication. Demonstrating leadership skills, she took on the responsibilities of a software project manager, planning and coordinating as though she were overseeing a team of 25 developers to deliver a full software product lifecycle.

Undergraduate Speaker

Tesia N. Campbell of Mertztown, Pa., graduates magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in communication studies and a minor in performance and storytelling. She has experience in theater production, teaching, acting and writing, which has driven her passion for using communication and performance to connect, inspire and create a positive impact.

Campbell's KU journey began in the mid-90s. After a couple of semesters, she changed course and earned two associate's degrees in communications and liberal arts from Lehigh Carbon Community College. She became the founder, artistic director and executive producer of Global ImpACTORS Group (GIG) from 2013-23, which produced 12 stage plays and several short films and videos. She is an accomplished playwright, producer and filmmaker, as well as a board member and volunteer for several nonprofit organizations, working within local and national communities and with various charities. She gives her time and talents generously to causes including local theatre and housing insecurity.

Seeing her daughter, Jada Lichtenwalner, go on to graduate from Kutztown University in 2022, Campbell found the drive to return to KU to complete her bachelor's degree. While completing her undergraduate degree, she maintained her full-time job. Since 2021, she has been a marketing manager at Touchstone Capital, Inc., Pittsburgh, where she leads marketing and manages content creation, webinar creation, presentation design and video production.

Faculty Speaker

Dr. Alexander D. Hernandez has more than 30 years' experience in research and education-related roles at various institutes and universities around the world, including The Southeast Environmental Research Center at Florida International University, The Primate Research Institute of Kyoto University, The Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics at Penn State University, and The James Hutton Institute in Scotland. For the last 11 years, he has been a professor of biology at Kutztown University.

At KU, Hernandez teaches courses in parasitology, aquatic ecology and research methods in biology. He has supervised more than 30 undergraduate students in independent research projects, with most of them presenting their work at regional, national and international conferences. Several have been published as co-authors in scientific articles. In addition, he helps supervise undergraduate internships at collaborating local health networks and non-profit organizations.

Hernandez is a parasitologists, who is interested in the biology of parasitic worms. His research focuses on the ecology of parasite transmission, host-parasite interactions and the management of parasitic diseases in wildlife and livestock. Hernandez's research has resulted in more than 20 peer-reviewed scientific journal articles and book chapters on the biology of parasites in a wide range of hosts and ecosystems, including trout streams in Michigan, blackwater streams in New Jersey, hyenas in Africa, monkeys in Japan, wild rabbits in Scotland and organic pigs in Pennsylvania and other states across the country.

Hernandez earned a Bachelor of Arts in biological sciences from Rutgers University - New Brunswick in 1994, followed by a Master of Science in ecology, evolution and behavior from Michigan State University in 1997. He earned a PhD in ecology and evolution from Rutgers University - New Brunswick in 2006

For more information, visit the KU commencement website.