Cronkite Convocation program
Congratulations #CronkiteNation Class of 2022!
The Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication 2022 Spring convocation ceremony will be held on Tuesday, May 10, 2022 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
Melanie Asp Alvarez
assistant dean
M.L.S., Arizona State University
Dawn Gilpin
assistant dean
Ph.D., Temple 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
Marc B. Johnson
Vice President of Corporate Communications, Meta
Marc B. Johnson is a 20-year veteran in communications. Over his career, Marc has developed a deep expertise in identifying and activating unique data-based insights to develop more authentic brand voice and connection with business stakeholders. Marc is currently Vice President of Corporate Communications at Meta, managing a range of critical communications functions. His priority focus is to empower employees to become more informed advocates and drivers of the company mission, shape corporate brand reputation as a business leader, and manage communications efforts through centralized creative, editorial and data communications services. Marc has influenced numerous sensitive company initiatives including the rebrand from Facebook to Meta, organizational changes, and media relations connected to company earnings disclosures and acquisitions.
Previously, Mr. Johnson was Managing Director of APCO Worldwide’s New York business, and the Global Head of Digital Strategy where he helped clients accomplish their objectives through data analytics and content strategy. His work in issues management and stakeholder analysis has driven critical business goals for consumer and association brands. This work included designing corporate brand activations for Audi of America, connecting IKEA to meaningful public affairs moments, developing new ways to educate people on Red Bull energy drink ingredients and supporting communications and brand strategy at many other Fortune 500 organizations. Marc has also driven global communications strategy in the public sector including work with the Government of Malaysia where he helped 400 government officials better engage public constituents through the more informed use of social media.
Mr. Johnson holds a Bachelor of Arts in Advertising and Mass Media Communication from Hampton University. He is an active board member with America’s Charities, Gideon’s Promise, and the Hampton University Scripps-Howard School of Journalism and Communications. Marc was named to PRWeek’s 40 under 40 list in 2015 and was ranked #5 on The Observer’s Power PR List in 2020.
Here are the lists of our 2022 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
Fatma Abid
Michelle Ailport
Constance-Sophie Almendares
Morgan Carden
Kylie Cochrane
Sara Edwards
Farah Eltohamy
Lauren Fountain
Jeffrey Horst
Molly Hudson
Brooke Newman
Hope O’Brien
Edwin Perez
Sydney Rich
Nicole Soto
Kiarra Spottsville
James Teeple
Emma VandenEinde
Alexis Young
Harrison Zhang
Mario Baralta
Jacqueline Berry
Lindsay Burgio
Vickey Chitgian
Gwendolynn Combs
Salvatore Conte
Melissa Daniels
Jennifer Deason
Isis Dennis
John Dimas
Katrina Emmert
Alyssa Everett
Christina Flores
Misty Free
James Geiselhofer
Pablo Gonzalez-Alvarado
Aja Greer
Fernanda Guerrero-Irish
Candace Hamana
Genevieve Harazim
Jessica Harshberger
Breahna Henderson
Tamara Herman
Briana Hernandez
Gustabo Hernandez
Kelsie Hoffman
Hailee Hook
Dallas Hunt-Miles
Wendy Jacob
Abraham Jauregui
Shehzaar Kak
Richelle LaBarge
Adriana Lacy
Kianna Lawrence
James Lindroos
Tiana Liss
Sienna Lopez
Parker Lucas
Karina Luna
Naledi Makhene
Desire Marchitello
Rebecca Marsch
Taylor Martinez
Rose McAninch
Holly McClarin
Stephen McDowell
Brianna Mesquita
Timothy Miller
Hetukumar Mistry
Jessica Montgomery
Emily Munro
Nikita Naik
Cassie Padgett
Meredith Payette
Sage Piccolotti
Stacy Pigott
Natalia Revere
Tonia Rogers
Gabriela Ruiz
Lauren Schafer
Katrina Simyab
Jamin Smith
Rebecca Smouse
Crystal Spenner
Dave Spenner
Avery Stephenson
Dominick Taylor
Jody Thompson
Grayson Toledo
Michael Torres
Rachel Traub
Marcel van der Stroom
Aleida Wakefield
Laura Wapelhorst
Brooke Weiler
Jacey West
Benjamin Wilson
Faith Abercrombie **
Sinobia Aiden **
Mckenzie Allen-Charmley
Genesis Alvarado **
Riley Anderson
Maria Apud De La Fuente *
Diana Arellano Barajas ***
Jenna Arend ***
Roxanne Banuelos
Ulysse Vincent Horace Bex
Dallys Bostic
Nathaniel Boyle *** ^
Erin Brassey ***
Ryleeann Buss *
Joycelyn Cabrera ***
Brian Cano
Aubrey Carpenter ***
Sara Castro
Michael Chirichillo *
Ashley Chorzelewski
Samantha Chow ***
Andrew Columbro ***
Itzia Crespo
Drea Degrate *
Nicholas Devor *
Ariana Diaz Victoria ***
Kelly Donohue ***
Christopher Dorch
Mareena Emran
Melissa Estrada
Leilani Fitzpatrick **
Lizbet Flores
Endia Fontanez ** ^
Hannah Foote *** ^
Danya Gainor
Kayleigh Gallagher
Tracey Garrett
Alexa Glidic *
Sydney Halliwell ***
Melanie Hamner
Samantha Herdrich **
Troy Hill *
Rachel Howard *** ^
Caroline Jackson-Smyrk ***
Angel Jimenez ***
Eliza Johnson ***
Miranda Judd
Rithwik Kalale
Jazmyne Keese
Haleigh Kochanski
Taylor Lane ** ^
Mckenna Leavens ***
Karen Marroquin
Isabella Martillaro *
Cara Martinez
Molly McBride ***
Olivia McCann **
Madison McConnell *
Sedona Meadows ***
Bianca Meza ***
Roman Micucci *
Amanda Montini
Alexandra Mora Medina
Kiersten Moss ^
Maxwell Muehlhausen *
Olivia Munson *** ^
Megan Newsham ***
Andrew Onodera ***
Balin Overstolz-McNair *
Michael Patton
Jenna Pinkney
Taliah Plach *
Reyna Preciado
Diana Quintero Chavez **
Kiera Riley *** ^
Jadin Roberson
Travis Robertson *** ^
Valeria Rodriguez **
Ethan Rosales
Hayden Rosenberg
Jeffrey Rosenfield *
Cameron Rubner
Julia Sandor **
Jenna Sauter
Isabella Schneider ***
Samantha Schnoes
Nicole Shinn *** ^
Tatum Smith
Karishma Sood **
Alissan Speidel
Alexia Stanbridge ***
Alyssa Stoney ***
Kaleigh Strong * ^
Alicia Sylvester **
Ryan Tisminezky *
Cheuk Lam Titus To
Miguel Torres
Olivia Trentadue **
Zachary Van Arsdale *
Adrik Vargas
Peyton Watts
Tyler Wegleitner ***
Kenzel Williams **
Kacey Wilson *** ^
Caroline Yu *** ^
Mitchell Zimmermann ***
Lauren Adams ***
James Arnold
Jessica Arvayo
Sebastian Balentyne **
Mathew Belamaric
Maximillian Benton ***
Gavin Biehl
Haley Borgrud **
Madeline Butler
Maricella Cantu
Randy Chavez
Christopher Conte *
Kasandra Cortinas
Chelsea Cranston ***
Brandon Cutler **
Brittany Dany ***
Brea DuBose
Jeremy Duckett
Adeline Embry **
Kyle Foster
Jacqueline Fulton
Abigail Garness *
Marissa Gonzales
Gabriella Gonzalez
Abigayle Goodman
Kylie Guest
Amorette Gutierrez
Robert Hall
Thomas Henry
Cambria Hibbert ***
Samantha House
Marcus Howe
Gabrielle Huberty
Brittany Kaufman
Samantha Keith ***
Cade Kelley
Sean Kettering
Matthew Kohler ***
Lauren Kos
Kaylee Kowalski ***
Yarcadova Lewinson **
Catalina Lira
Rebekah Lyons
Nicolas Maniscalco **
Anthony Marraccino ***
Stacy Martin
Steven Martinez ***
Karli Matthias
Ann McCarty **
Daniel Medina ***
Alexa Nelson
Freja Nelson
Romi Nicaj
Courtney O’Malley
Jennifer Parrish **
Moshe Paul
Evelyn Pecikonis
Deijza Ramos
Kassandra Rhyne
Cynthia Riveles *
Abagael Rivera
Adera Robinson
Brianna Roper
Tiara Rosales
Kirstie Rouse **
Victoria Safarian
Amanda Sanchez
Olivia Schindler ***
Aaron Schlader
Samantha Shinn ***
Lauren Sims
Bradley Smart
Ryan Spicer
Mat Steuer
Alexis Stovell
Gloria Suarez *
Bethany Szatkowski **
Kevin Tanenbaum
Marissa Thomas
Alec Torres ***
Matthew Waxenfelter
Hogan Armstrong *
Michael Baribault ***
Kobe Blackwell
Brandon Bonaparte **
Caleb Bouchy
Dylan Breese
Alexander Coil * ^
Paige Cook ** ^
Jackson Coppinger
Parker Cordova-Smith
Claire Cornelius ***
Gabrielle Ducharme *** ^
Ashley Engle
Ike Everard *** ^
Christopher Fahrendorf ** ^
Kevin Foster
John Friday **
Benjamin Garcia *
Ian Garcia ***
Dominic Garramone
Parker Gray ***
Grant Greabell ***
Kaitlyn Green ***
Nikolaus Hall **
Burke Harman
Hunter Hippel * ^
Kevin Hurley
Jack Johnson ^
Wesley Johnson
Maddyn Johnstone-Thomas ***
Harrison Klopp
Gareth Kwok ***
Michael Lancia ***
Zachary Larsen ***
Zachary Larson **
George Loureiro
Rebecca Mardikian **
Preston Markland ***
Joseph McHugh
Michael McQuade
Charles Messman *
Franklin Miller
David Montoya *
Connor Morman
Sean Murphy *
Austin Nicholson *
Grayson Nykaza **
Alyssa Polczynski
Ashlyn Register ***
Dominic Rivera
Samuel Rivera
Winter Roberts
David Rodish **
Bradley Roe
Julian Rosa
Maryn Russell *
Marco-Antonio Salas * ^
Nicholas Sanchez
Marti Savlov
Nicholas Scheske ***
Ethan Schmidt
Ryan Schwager *
Mackenzie Schweickart ***
Kiana Solomon *
Jeremiah Sosa **
Haley Spracale ***
Gabriel Swartz *
Autumn Thompson *
Justin Torres *
Riley Trujillo *
Brooke Tyburski **
Juan Urresti
Amanda Valle
Connor Van Ligten *** ^
Jeremy Walker *
Joshua Weisbly **
Simon Williams
Susan Wong *
Nicholas Zeller-Singh *
Jackson Zuber
Taylor Adelman
Insia Bilgrami
Victoria Brown ***
Lizbeth Bueno
Mckenna Burris
Yvette Castro
Isaac Chandler
Shannon Coleman *
Kevin Contreras Flores
Jacqui Delbert **
Kathryn Denny
Irvin Dina
Danielle Dong *
Keith Farner
Charles Frazier
Janelle Galvagno ***
Stephanie Gertsch ***
Kristin Gleim ***
Mia Hood
Camille Hymel
Zachary Kusz
Ashly Lambert **
Jamie Lannan ***
Kylee McCloney ***
Jaimee Merrill ***
Emma Moran **
Katia Mudrich ***
Chenet Nerette
Uyen Nguyen
Brianna Roosevelt **
Valerie Schwartz-Narvaez
Skyler Shores
Garrett Staker
Nicole Zaunbrecher
Kyrsten Ziolkowski
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.
Sydney Halliwell
Outstanding Graduate Students
This award is given to graduate students who are nominated by Cronkite faculty for academic excellence and professional experiences.
Fatma Abid
Sara Edwards
Emma VandenEinde
Outstanding Undergraduate Students
This award goes to undergraduate students nominated by Cronkite faculty for excellence in academics, internships, professional experiences and extracurricular activities.
Samantha Chow
Gabrielle Ducharme
Olivia Munson
Nicole Shinn
Karishma Sood
Mitchell Zimmermann
Top Innovator
This award honors Cronkite undergraduate students who champion engaging and cutting-edge ways to do great journalism.
Jeffrey Horst
Cronkite Spirit
The Cronkite School presents this award to undergraduate students who best represent Sun Devil spirit, pride and tradition.
Faith Abercrombie
Andrew Onodera
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.
Andrew Onodera
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.
Lauren Adams
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.
Adriana Lacy
Stephen McDowell
Nikita Naik
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.
Lauren Adams
Stephanie Gertsch
Steven Martinez
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.
Michele Ailport
Diana Arellano Barajas
Joycelyn Cabrera
Aubrey Carpenter
Claire Cornelius
Ariana Diaz Victoria
Ike Everard
Ian Garcia
Sydney Halliwell
Gareth Kwok
Preston Markland
Olivia Munson
Hope O’Brien
Andrew Onodera
Ashlyn Register
Kiera Riley
Isabella Schneider
Alexia Stanbridge
Alyssa Stoney
Tyler Wegleitner
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.
Diana Arellano Barajas
Ashley Church
Ariana Diaz Victoria
Ike Everard
Ian Garcia
Sydney Halliwell
Olivia Munson
Andrew Onodera
Olivia Schindler
Isabella Schneider
Alyssa Stoney
Tyler Wegleitner
Sydney Halliwell
Sydney Halliwell is graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Mass Communication with a minor in Marketing and Sales Essentials. During her time at ASU, she held six internships for small companies located across Phoenix. Sydney was also a member of the Digital Audiences Lab and a social media specialist for the ASU Enterprise Marketing Hub for three years. While pursuing her education at the Cronkite School, Sydney was a member of the ASU Pitchforks, the first a cappella group in the state of Arizona. She also is a proud member of Chi Omega. After graduation, Sydney will be joining the ASU Enterprise Marketing Hub full-time as a paid social media coordinator, as well as pursuing her Master’s of Science in Digital Audience Strategy.
Recessional
Convocation platform guests
Bonnie Bartak ’72, alumni representative
Adrienne R. Fairwell, general manager, Arizona PBS
Sydney Halliwell, student speaker
Marc B. Johnson, keynote speaker
John Schurz, endowment board representative
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.