Fall 2021 Convocation
Congratulations #CronkiteNation Class of 2021!
The Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication Fall 2021 convocation ceremony will be held on Tuesday, Dec. 14, 2021 at 7:30 p.m. at ASU at Arizona Federal Theatre. Doors open at 6:30 p.m.
Battinto L. Batts Jr.
dean and professor
Ph.D., Hampton University
Rebecca Blatt
senior associate dean
M.B.A., The American University
Jessica Pucci
senior associate dean
M.A., University of Missouri
Dawn Gilpin
assistant dean
Ph.D., Temple University
Melanie Asp Alvarez
assistant dean
M.L.S., Arizona State University
Brett Kurland
assistant dean for instruction and partnerships
M.B.A., Northwestern University
Convocation Program
Processional
Welcome
Battinto L. Batts Jr., Ph.D.
Dean and Professor
Keynote Convocation Speaker
William C. Rhoden
Editor-at-Large, The Undefeated
William C. Rhoden is a columnist and writer-at-large for The Undefeated, ESPN’s news site about sports, race and culture. In collaboration with The Undefeated, ESPN, and the Walt Disney Company, Rhoden established the Rhoden Fellowship. Since 2017, this one-year program identifies and trains aspiring African-American journalists from Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
Rhoden is also the author of several books, including “40 Million Dollar Slaves: The Rise, Fall and Redemption of the Black Athlete” and “Third and A Mile: The Trials and Triumphs of The Black Quarterback.” Before joining The Undefeated, Rhoden wrote an award winning sports column for The New York Times and appeared as a guest on ESPN’s Sports Reporters for nearly 30 years.
Rhoden began his journalism his career as a news reporter at the Baltimore Afro American Newspaper. He was a senior editor with Ebony Magazine and then a columnist and jazz critic for the Baltimore Sun.
Rhoden attended Morgan State University in Baltimore where he majored in English.
Rhoden won a Peabody Award for Broadcasting as the writer for the HBO documentary “Journey of the African American Athlete.” He was also the writer on the documentary “Breaking The Huddle: The Integration of College Football,” which won an Emmy.
Here are the lists of our 2021 Fall graduates.
Honors designations: Academic recognition is granted to undergraduate candidates only:
* Cum Laude – GPA of 3.40 to 3.59
** Magna Cum Laude – GPA of 3.60 to 3.79
*** Summa Cum Laude – GPA of 3.80 and above
^ Graduate of Barrett, The Honors College
Talal Alshathry, “Shifting Sands: A Qualitative Case Study of Changing Dynamics in the Saudi Media Landscape”
Allison Forbes, “Ball is (Virtual) Life: An Ethnographic Examination of Identity, Culture and Community in NBA 2K”
Karyn Alexander
Derek Anaeme
Cathryn Andrews
Kimberly Bertrand
Paige Billings
Hannah Brizzee
Dakota Brown
Robyn Bunch
Alyssa Burlingame
Danielle Carruth
Sarah Cass
Corinn Castro
Callan Christy
Prashant Churi
Gabriel Cushing
Derek Daranouvongs
Melissa Davila Leon
Dana De La Torre
Kaci Demarest
Frank Duenas
Ashlyn Duran
William Ellis
Ashlee Ewell
Robert Ewing
Brianna Ezerins
Amanda Ferreira Muniz Dos Santos
Mikayla Ferrin
Veronica Galek
Jill Galus
Jessica Gensel
Karishma Goel
Amanda Goodman
Quincy Grittmann
Fernanda Guerrero-Irish
Brandon Hanna
Kyla Hart
Melissa Henrius
April Hettinger
Sarah Higgins
Ashton Hopkins
Nicole Hovanesian
Elspeth Huyett
Kelly Jasper
Katrinka Kay
Shea Kelly
Daphni Kilgore
Jacqueline Knowles
Isabella Koenig
Maria Kraus
Devin Ladewig
Nino Franco Llanera
Gisselle Loera
Joseph Martin
Brianna Martinez
Paloma Martinez Crespo
Caleb McAllister
Christina McCall
Miranda McCullough
Tawnia McDaniel
Alexandra Mercurio
Troy Mizer
Alan Moffatt
Tracy Molina
Andria Moore
Tea Myers
Erica Nelson
Breena New
Linda Obele
Alysa Ojeda
Anne Packman
Sibila Parpova
Kendra Pelofske
Emily Perry
Clark Pingree
Samantha Pouls
Jaynelle Ramon
Jill Rezek
Weston Riddle
Alexandra Sanchez
Paola Sanchez
Francisco Santa Cruz
John Schelling
Kenneth Schneider
Hunter Schoepflin
Logan Schurr
Emily Sears
Zoe Shanahan
Chelsea Shannon
Savannah Sletten
Vanessa Spriet
Andrea Stark
Michael Stark
Gregory Stewart
Howard Thomas
Isabella Tindall
Yvanna Vargas
Kyle Vassalo
Katherine Vines
Derek Vlcko
Amanda Wade
Shelby Ward
Stephanie Washington
Alison Whitney
Sean Winnett
Jena Yannone
Ching-Cheng Yu
Eric Zagar
Olivia Zurawin
Carley Adams
Kyle Backer
Ashwin Chary
James Coffey
William Cornelius
William Daniel
Craig Harris
Rose Jarrett
Alexandria Mansfield
Andrea Miller
Jennifer Razo
Valerie Santillan
Kenechi Anigbogu
Gianluca DElia
Taylor Eagleston
Miles Green
Sinead Hickey
Nicholas Johnsen
Rachel Johnson
Mary Long
Haley MacDonell
Elliott McVeigh
Payton Muse
Emily Schmidt
Kimberly Silverio-Bautista
Kamilah Williams
Robert Winder
Natasha Yee
Taiwo Adeshigbin
Andrea Aguilera
Emily Carman
Maria Caterina Cheshire
Eric DePaz
Isabella Duran
James Franks
Mariah Graves
Henry Greenstein
Kenneth Manoj
David Payne
Randee Romero
Erin Slinde
Prince James Story
Connor Worley
Aydali Campa Lopez
Jimmy Cloutier
Brendon Derr
Mollie Jamison
Rylee Kirk
Isabel Koyama
Laura Kraegel
Maya Leachman
Michael McDaniel
Kenneth Quayle
Nicole Sadek
Isaac Simonelli
Sarah Suwalsky
Zoha Tunio
Jennifer Aghassibake *
Marina Ahner *
Shea Arend *
Emily Ayers
Olivia Betlewicz **
Garrett Boyd ***
Bresae Brown
Andrew Caravella *
Madison Cash *
Kendal Chandler
Casey Ciocca
Anthony Crispin
Madalena Diaz
Trevor Dishong ***
Kiara Fairbrother ***
Kayla Fast
Kristian Favors ***
Reigne Fedrick *
Niaimani Fenty
Hannah Fortman
Charles Frazier
Audriana Graham
Yasaman Guilani
Tyler Hallgren **
Kyle Henschel
Morgan Jackson ***
Rachel Kane
Steven Kennedy
Nathaniel Koonce
Audrey Lalor
Azalea Lovato
Tyrone Lozano
Taylor Lundquist *
Elizabeth Madrigal
John Malick
Larae Martinez
Zachariah McCormick-Pallares
Christopher Moberg ***
Hannah Morgan ***
Samantha Murakami
Justin Nagel
Kento Nakano ***
Charlotte Napper *
Susan Noto **
Krista Pagliuco *
Leonides Pardo
Osten Parish * Trang Pham *
Alexander Priebe ***
James Rhodes
Kara Ross **
Amanda Rutter
Tori Sacco
Jacqueline Saison ***
Kevin Sanders *
Kevin Sanders *
Kenyon Schwartz *
Da’Vonna Shannon
Taylor Souza ***
Jake Stern
Nicole Stoddard
Molly Turnbach * Rion Tyler Tyler Woo *
James Woodard
Gianni Woodfield
Hannah Bronkema **
Timothy Cake ***
Jessica Carnivale **
Ava Chovanec ***
Kaylee Connors ***
Nickolas Cooney
Kerston Corns * Kerston Corns *
Alexis Cortez ***
Kameron Dyer *
Sydney Fite
Amiliano Fragoso **
Blake Freas
Kylee Golden
Jacob Hedeby *
Paul Helmers
Timothy Iannello
Quinn Jamieson *
James Johnston **
Zachary Keenan *
Bailey Leasure
Obren Manjencich ***
Evan Masters ***
Jackson Mchaney
Michelle Mehok
Mirabella Miranda **
Jordan Moffat
Derek Moskal
Alina Nelson **
Savannah Nugent ***
Evan Oscherwitz *
Shane Purcell
Samuel Rivera
Colin Romaglia ***
Jacob Rudner *
Alexis Ruiz
Brian Seitz
Joseph Serrano *
Abigail Sharpe
Amanda Sherer *
Andre Simms
Kaysey Siobal ***
Jayden Sormani
Jordan Spurgeon **
Leo Tochterman
Dawson Turner
Daniel Zwiebach
Christopher Abdelmalek
Abdullah Alsaud **
James Alvarez * Kyra Anbe Paul Archer *
Denise Arevalo * Ibrahim Awadalla * Devan Bailey * Emily Balcerak Sean Baxter Carly Bennett Emilee Bergmann *
Zachary Bishop
Cydney Bolton
Michael Breslin
Sydney Brinckman
Brittany Briody * Lauren Carter Margaret Casey Jaeneen Chung Lindsay Clare Davon Coker Devyn Coons Jacob Cralle Zack Crutcher Itzel Cyr *
Diaudra Daniel
Matthew Daniel
Justin Darnell
Kimberly Defors
Joshua DeMotts
Cara Desmond
Astou Diop
Essence Dixon
Amy Domres ***
Natalie Duran
Rachel Durling
Madison Ebersole
Chelsea Evans
Melissa Fair ***
Genesis Flores
Kerbie Gibbs
Sarah Gilbertson ***
Shaina Golden
Matthew Gonzalez
Andrew Goodman
Megan Grossman
Rachel Hallett *
Brandon Harris ***
Caroline Hauglie ***
Elyssa Holmes
Magdalena Holquin
Samantha House
Brylan Hoxworth
Rachael Jackson **
Kenneth James
Briana Jimenez
Coleton Johnson
Ursula Johnson **
Regine Jordan
Jules Kapoor
Rachael Kaulen *
Lafarrah King
Taylor Kobinski
Veronica La
Phoenix Landin * Mark Lautar Kara Lawler *
Rachel Leech *
Andrea Leonard
Tanner Leuellen
Michael Licon
Catalina Lira
Natalie Lo Duca
Celeste Lopez
Kharli Mandeville
Alberto Martinez
Hope Mashburn
Elizabeth Matthews
Federico Mazabel Sandoval
Joel Mcauliffe
Joshua Mcdonald
Caitlin Mcgovern
Savannah Melton
Maria Mendoza Chico
Raine Michaels *
Nicholas Miranda
Diana Musa Taher ***
Sasha Myrom
Romi Nicaj
Kimberly Oconnor
Monica Orozco
Tasia Pender **
Kyle Piunti
Kailynn Principe
Jack Purscell
Brittney Reeves * Krissi Reeves * Meixuan Ren Melissa Reuser * Rachel Ries-Sayles *
Kaylee Robinson
Gina Romeo ***
Jakaria Danielle Ross
Sydney Rubin
Dominic Ruffin
Ava Ryan
Jacqueline Sales
Gary Scurka
Jean Serrano
Duncan Shaw
Michaela Steele **
Kathryn Steinway **
Megan Stewart
Alessandra Stone
Alexis Stovell *
Rob Strain ***
Michael Thomas
Paige Tobin *
Evan Tomaszek
Briana Tran **
Dylan Vogel ***
Madison VonSosen ***
Virginia Washburn
Natalie White **
Brianna Alexander
Stacy Anders *** ^
Milan Andrade
Kara Angeli
Emma Ascott *
Osama Awadalla
Brandie Bosworth ***
Kasey Brammell **
Samantha Byrd **
Brian Cano
Claire Chandler
Alexandra Costello **
Allison Cripe ***
Amanda Day **
Shayla Dubon ***
Kaylin Dunnett
Haylee Elmore
Shane Everitt *
Morae Fernandez-Jordane ***
Jessica Ferrigno ^
Christina Flores
Jacquelyn Gonzales *** ^
Devon Greene *
Caroleina Hassett **
Jenna Hillman *
Gabrielle Hofer *** ^
Isabella Hoffman
Katelyn Keenehan *
Julian Klein *
Ryan Knappenberger *** ^
Grace Lieberman
Lauren Lippert
Nicole Long
Aliyah Magee *
Kaitlyn Matthews *
Kei Mo
Jalpan Nanavati **
Brooke Newman *** ^
Angelica Olivas *** ^
Joshua Ortega
Colleen Parkison *
Camille Plant ***
Lauren Quinlan
Jaimee Resnick ***
Kelly Richmond
Brenda Rivas
Melinda Sawyer *
Christopher Scragg
Christian Serrano
Derrick Smith **
Karen Solorio Rangel
Rachel Stapholz ***
Velvet Wahl ***
Audrey Woods **
Mikenna Yarmus-Gannon ***
Alexis Young *
Student Speaker
This privilege is bestowed upon a student who represents the very best of the Cronkite School — a well-rounded individual who exhibits academic excellence and has participated in many activities outside of regular course work.
Angelica Olivas
Outstanding Graduate Students
This award is given to graduate students who are nominated by Cronkite faculty for academic excellence and professional experiences.
Zoha Tunio
Prince James Story
Outstanding Undergraduate Students
This award goes to undergraduate students nominated by Cronkite faculty for excellence in academics, internships, professional experiences and extracurricular activities.
Colin Romaglia
Gabrielle Hofer
Top Innovator
This award honors Cronkite undergraduate students who champion engaging and cutting-edge ways to do great journalism.
Stacy Anders
Cronkite Spirit
The Cronkite School presents this award to undergraduate students who best represent Sun Devil spirit, pride and tradition.
Jordan Spurgeon
Highest GPA in Journalism and Mass Communication and Sports Journalism
Cronkite presents the highest GPA awards to the top graduates in the Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Mass Communication program and the Bachelor of Arts in Sports Journalism who have the highest cumulative GPA in their respective programs.
Camille Plant
Highest GPA in Digital Audiences and Mass Communication and Media Studies
Cronkite presents the highest GPA awards to the top graduates in the Bachelor of Arts in Journalism in Mass Communication program and the Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communication and Media Studies who have the highest cumulative GPA in their respective programs.
Hannah Morgan
Molly Turnbach
Outstanding Graduate Online Students
This award is given to undergraduate students nominated by Cronkite faculty for excellence in the degree programs of Digital Audience Strategy or Mass Communication and Media Studies.
Callan Christy
Kelly Jasper
Outstanding Undergraduate Online Students
This award is given to undergraduate students nominated by Cronkite faculty for excellence in the degree programs of Digital Audience Strategy or Mass Communication and Media Studies.
Elizabeth Madrigal
Molly Turnbach
Kappa Tau Alpha National Honor Society
This national college honor society recognizes academic excellence and promotes scholarship in journalism. The top 10 percent of the graduating journalism class is inducted at convocation each semester.
Stacy Anders
Brandie Bosworth
Gabrielle Hofer
Laura Kraegel
Savannah Nugent
Angelica Olivas
Camille Plant
Colin Romaglia
Nicole Sadek
Connor Worley
Moeur Award
This award is named for Dr. B.B. Moeur, who was a physician and businessman in Tempe in the early 1900s. The ASU Alumni Association presents the award at the university commencement ceremony to undergraduates with a cumulative grade point average of 4.0 achieved during eight-consecutive fall and spring semesters.
Stacy Anders
Camille Plant
Colin Romaglia
Velvet Wahl
Angelica Olivas
Angelica Olivas is graduating summa cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and a minor in business. Throughout her time at the Cronkite School, she worked as a PR specialist in the Cronkite School’s Public Relations Lab and interned at AZ Big Media, Phoenix Magazine, The Garrity Group Public Relations and social media agency Homemade Social. Olivas also served as a Cronkite ambassador and as the social media coordinator for ASU’s chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America. Olivas will continue her education at the Cronkite School in spring 2022, where she will work toward a master’s degree in mass communication.
Recessional
Convocation platform guests
Adrienne Fairwell, Arizona PBS general manager
Angelica Olivas, student speaker
William C. Rhoden, keynote speaker
Cronkite Endowment Board of Trustees
Cronkite’s Endowment Board of Trustees is composed of top media leaders from across the Valley. Trustees advise the dean, help facilitate Cronkite’s accreditation process, support students through mentorship and internship and career opportunities and philanthropically support the school’s priority funding needs. Trustees also help spearhead the school’s signature fundraising event, the Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism.
Esteemed faculty
About Walter Cronkite and the school’s history
Learn more about the Cronkite School, including school values, fast facts and more.
About the school
The Cronkite School has a rich history at Arizona State University.
About our graduates
Welcome to #CronkiteNation! More than 14,000 alumni comprise the country’s strongest media network.