Graduates Reflect on their Journeys as Chargers, Look Toward the Future

Chris Sullivan ’19 MPA knew that returning to classroom for the first time in nearly 20 years to earn a master’s degree would be a challenge.

"Working full-time and having a family is busy enough, but I knew I wanted to expand the breadth of my experience," he says. "Earning my MPA accomplished that goal."

An environmental analyst with the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection, Sullivan was one of 700 graduate and undergraduate students to accept their degrees this month at the University’s Winter Commencement.

During his time at the University, Sullivan, who completed a bachelor’s degree in environmental science in the mid 1990s, studied the impact of fracking waste in Connecticut.

"I hope you leave here today filled with pride for reaching your goal of earning a degree and excited for what the future will hold." President Steven Kaplan

"The research that I conducted and paper that I wrote prepared me to take the lead on passing a local ordinance to ban the fracking waste products from my hometown of Branford," Sullivan says. "I was able to directly apply my schoolwork to a real-world situation, almost in real time, as the ordinance was passed only a few months after I completed my class assignment."

In his remarks to the graduates, President Steven Kaplan told the graduates that they have much work ahead of them to address the issues affecting the world, but he told them they have the skills and the experience to make a difference.

"I hope you leave here today filled with pride for reaching your goal of earning a degree and excited for what the future will hold," he said. "I also hope you develop a sense of urgency to apply what you have learned to make an impact and to inspire others to do the same."

One graduate who has done just that as a student is Madison Davis ’19, who dedicated herself to raising money for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital through the University’s Up ‘til Dawn campaign. A forensic science major, will pursue her master’s degree in medicolegal death investigation at Syracuse University.

"I’m learning new things and using the wealth of knowledge I garnered from the University of New Haven to build my career path." Dolapo Egbewole ’19 M.S.

"The University helped me prepare for success by giving me the resources that I needed in order to find an internship and later find my graduate school program," she says "My professors and advisers really helped me find what I was interested in and showed me how to go about pursuing those interest."

Logan Hill ’19, a sport management major, was active in ChargerREC and was a five-year member of the University’s football team.

"The greatest lesson I learned that will contribute to my success is the value of being a part of something that is bigger than yourself," he says. The feeling of winning a football game after a long week of preparation will always be at the top of the list and what I’ll remember most."

Dolapo Egbewole ’19 M.S., a native of Nigeria who joined the University to earn a master’s degree in finance, has already started her career with JPMorgan Chase as a financial analyst.

"This is the dream company of every finance graduate," she said. "I’m learning new things and using the wealth of knowledge I garnered from the University of New Haven to build my career path."