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172nd Commencement Ceremony 

Embracing Challenge, Common Humanity and Hallmarks Are Front and Center On this Special Day 

NDNU’s 172nd Commencement Ceremony on Saturday, May 4th, was an especially inspirational event. Despite the early morning downpour, no spirits were dampened by the weather. Over 400 faculty, staff, family members, and friends gathered to celebrate the 61 students receiving undergraduate, credentials, and master’s degrees.  

Denise Sandel, Jacqueline Yujuico and Tifany Vera, all from the School of Business and Management, began the procession by carrying the American flag, California flag and NDNU flag, respectively. Jose Carlos Bonilla, student speaker, led the 2024 graduating class.  

“Today is the culmination of years of hard work, perseverance, focus, and dedication,” said Anne Hannigan, Associate Vice President for Research Administration Emerita at Stanford University and Vice Chair of NDNU’s Board of Trustees, before she performed the Invocation. She continued, “You have been blessed to study and learn here at NDNU – in an environment where education and values converge for the greater good. Today, you join a proud line of graduates who have made a lasting and positive impact on their families, communities, and places of work.” 

Sr. Jean Stoner, Chair of NDNU’s Board of Trustees, echoed these sentiments in her speech, noting that, “For 173 years, this University has educated women and men of excellence, integrity and service. Today, it is you, our newest graduates, who make us proud.” Sr. Jean ended her speech by emphasizing, “As you move forward, remember what NDNU has meant to you. Stay involved and invest in NDNU when you can.” 

NDNU President Beth Martin cited the Hallmarks, embedded throughout the University’s curriculum, as integral and necessary “soft skills” that each and every NDNU student has learned. She explained, “The primary purpose of the Hallmarks is to foster social justice for all.” President Martin continued, “The Foundress of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, Sr. Julie Billiart, set the tone for Notre Dame learning communities by saying, ‘we will teach you what you need to know for life.’” 

President Martin concluded her remarks by sharing a few ideas of how to cope with the ever-changing world. This included remembering the importance of diversity and inclusion, learning to embrace change and uncertainty, and remembering the value of lifelong learning. Her speech ended by urging students to, “continue to search within for your gifts – for you have many.” 

 

Additional highlights include the following: 

For this year’s commencement address, students were blessed to hear from Sr. Joan Burke, a Sister of Notre Dame de Namur who served as a Senior Lecturer at the Centre for Leadership and Mangement at Tangaza University College and at the Maryknoll Institute of African Studies in Nairobi, Kenya. For close to 50 years, she lived and worked with African Catholic Sisters in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria and East Africa. Sr. Joan shared some of the learnings life has taught her. She asked students as they step into their next chapter to, “recognize our common humanity and embrace the beauty of our shared home, Earth, cherish the bonds you have formed and nurture them with care, and when faced with challenges on this journey, draw upon your experiences.” 

The class of 2024 student speaker, Jose Carlos Bonilla, shared his own story of setbacks and hardship. He noted, “Amid all the stress, I remembered every one of my classmates who had finished the program before me. Instead of succumbing to frustration, they embraced the challenge, they turned their fears into action, and they pushed forward toward the finish line.” He assured his classmates that, “You all are a testament to the power of perseverance and the joy of pursuing one’s passions,” and implored them to, “never lose sight of the impact we can make in the world around us.” 

City of Belmont Mayor, Julia Mates, presented the Belmont Community Service and Leadership award to Jasmine Gonzalez. This honor recognizes the spirit of volunteerism and leadership which are aligned with core values of what Belmont celebrates.  

Professor Holden Reyes, Dr. Clare Farrington and Dr. Kelly Delaney were this year’s recipients of the George M. Keller Teaching Excellence Award. This award is named for the late George Keller, a long-serving member and former Chair of the Board of Trustees. The Keller Teaching Award was established in 1995 to honor excellence in teaching at NDNU. One awardee is selected for each of the three schools.  

Dr. Kelly Vaughn was honored with the Sr. Catharine Julie Cunningham Memorial Teaching and Research Award, which is given to one faculty member annually – across all schools – to encourage new and creative ways of achieving excellence in teaching.  It was established in honor of Sr. Catharine Julie Cunningham, who served as NDNU’s President for 24 years. 

Congratulations to the Class of 2024! 

Notre Dame de Namur University
1500 Ralston Avenue
Belmont, CA 94002
(650) 508-3500

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Notre Dame de Namur University is an equal opportunity employer firmly committed to non-discrimination in its hiring and other employment practices and personnel policies. In compliance with all applicable federal and state laws, except where a bona fide occupational qualification exists, NDNU will make employment decisions irrespective of the staff member’s race, color, religion, religious creed, ancestry, national origin, age (except for minors), sex, marital status, citizenship status, military service status, sexual orientation, medical condition (a cancer-related or genetic condition), disability and/or any another status protected by law. When necessary, the NDNU will reasonably accommodate individuals with disabilities if they are otherwise qualified to perform all essential functions safely and do it without undue hardship to the NDNU. Inquiries regarding the College’s equal opportunity policies should be directed to the Human Resources Department via email at hr@ndnu.edu. NDNU admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national and ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic and other school administered programs.

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Mark Dee

Magellan Solutions USA launched under the visionary leadership of Mark A. K. Dee, Chief Executive Officer – a consultant and service provider for healthcare administrative support, IT development, energy, call center, and business process outsourcing. Mark has served in various multi-level management positions in his 21 years of service in the United States Air Force (USAF). He performed as Immunology and Microbiology department manager, Medical Laboratory Assistant Director, Facility and Security Manager, and finally retiring in the military in 2008 as Superintendent/Assistant Chief of Operations of 330 personnel Medical Group. Mark has experiences in the services industries since he retired, including running a restaurant chain as the CEO. He has also developed other businesses in the Martials Arts studio and 3d-printing industries. He has a BS in Health Sciences and Hospital Administration, Board Certified in Clinical Laboratory Sciences, Graduated in the Senior Executive Leadership School from the USAF, Master’s in Business Administration, and a Master’s of Science in Systems Management at Notre Dame De Namur University.

Chosen Cheng

Chosen Cheng is owner of CMC Group, a privately held engineering and marketing consultancy for small business startup ventures. He currently works with project teams developing patented award-winning solar roofing systems and patent pending drone-based augmented reality geological and thermal mapping solutions. He was formerly a Silicon Valley marketing and innovative corporate training manager. As an avocation and a way to “pay it forward” he enjoys teaching and career coaching college and graduate MBA students many of whom are pioneering first generation college students from underserved communities. He and his wife, a Notre Dame alum, celebrated their wedding reception at the Ralston Mansion in the 70’s and have two stupendously successful, married adult children who between them have four stupendously adorable grandchildren.

Arthur Chait

Entrepreneur, Executive, Engineer, Investor, Professor, Mentor. Founder & CEO EoPlex Inc. ($31 million VC funded startup acquired by ASTI Singapore). President Stanford Research Institute (SRI) Consulting Division (800 staff worldwide). SVP Flextronics (responsible for $8 Billion in global accounts). President Zitel Software. Principal Booz Allen. R&D Director Halliburton. Adjunct Professor Menlo College, Visiting Professor Universidad Francisco Marroquin (Guatemala), Mentor Draper University, Judge Startup Chile. BS Engineering Rutgers, MBA Strategy University Pittsburgh.

Kelly Cansler

Kelly completed both her BS (Finance/Economics) and MBA from NDNU. She utilized her business education to launch an insurance agency in 2008 with Farmers Insurance. It’s grown into multi-million-dollar agency, organically and through acquisition. She has been recognized by Farmers Insurance being ranked within the top 10% of agents nationwide, but also as a speaker, trainer, and mentor within the Farmers Insurance Community. Kelly is extremely connected with local businessowners through several networking channels.

Cliff Burnette

Cliff is the senior vice president and chief human resources officer at Rambus, a global chip and IP provider that advances data center connectivity and solves the bottleneck between memory and processing. Cliff has over 20 years of experience leading global human resources operations for publicly traded companies with expertise in employee relations, organizational development, and compensation strategy. Prior to Rambus, Cliff worked for several other high-tech companies in the semiconductor and medical device space and holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Management and Marketing from Texas State University and a master’s degree in Human Resources Management and Organization Development from the University of Texas at Austin.

Memo Morantes

Memo Morantes has been a San Mateo County resident for more than 45 years. He has been a three-term San Mateo County Board of Education incumbent, a Redwood City/San Mateo County Chamber of Commerce board member, a Sequoia Hospital Foundation member, a co-chair of the Latino Leadership Council of San Mateo, and a civic/community activist. 

Sheryl Young

Sheryl serves as a director for Philanthropic Ventures Foundation, which provides $10M each year for innovative teachers and social entrepreneurs throughout the Bay Area. Prior Sheryl served as CEO of Community Gatepath and AbilityPath.org. She has over 30 years of managerial experience in operations, finance, and marketing. Young is a graduate of the Stanford University Graduate School of Business Executive Program for Non-Profit Leaders, earned an M.A. of Public Health from UC Berkeley, an M.A. in Special Education from Ball State University and a B.A. in Political Science from Purdue University.

Brian Schumacker

Brian manages South San Francisco-San Bruno’s wastewater treatment plant and with a dedicated staff of over 40 professionals who safeguard community health and protect the fragile San Francisco Bay ecosystem. Brian holds a Master’s Degree in Public Administration and a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Business Administration, both from Notre Dame de Namur University. Brian has also earned the highest levels of professional certifications in wastewater treatment.

Mario Rendon

Mario Rendon serves as District Director for State Assemblymember Kevin Mullin. He develops the communications, public relations and constituent service strategy for the office and supervises a small team that represents Mr. Mullin in the 22nd Assembly District within San Mateo County. He has over twenty year’s experience working with elected officials at the local, state and federal level developing public policy.

Jerry Hill

Jerry’s public service started with his local neighborhood association that progressed to the California State Assembly and Senate where he authored legislation resulting in laws on issues related to consumer protection, utility safety, coastal protection, public health, education and the environment. Jerry was born and raised in San Francisco, receiving his BA from the University of California, Berkeley and a Teaching Credential from San Francisco State University.

Magda Gonzalez

Magda was most recently the City Manager for the City of Half Moon Bay, California. Prior she was the City Manager of East Palo Alto, California and Assistant City Manager, Redwood City. Magda was President of Cal-ICMA, representing the Local Government Hispanic Network and serves on the Board of Directors for the San Mateo Credit Union and the Latino Leadership Council of San Mateo County. Magda is also a member of ICMA and the State Bar of California and received several awards and recognitions, including Career Excellence Award (WLG) and the Ethical Hero Award from Cal-ICMA.

Jeremy Dennis

Jeremy currently serves as Portola Valley Town Manager. Previously, he’s worked for elected officials at all governance levels, including twice as District Director for local assemblymembers. He worked as the Palo Alto Long Range Planning Director, and for San Mateo County in management roles. Jeremy has a Masters in Urban Planning from the London School of Economics, and graduated from UC Davis studying US History/Political Science.

Kate Comfort-Harr

Kate is Executive Director of HIP Housing, a nonprofit specializing in creative affordable housing solutions throughout San Mateo County. Kate is a frequent speaker on a wide array of affordable housing topics and is passionate about the cultivation of collaborations between the private, public and social sectors. She serves on the Board of Directors for the San Mateo Credit Union and was awarded the Chamber San Mateo County’s 2020 Business Woman of the Year Award.

Jeff Cox

Program Director for Master of Public Administration

Jerome Nadel

Jerome Nadel is Internationally experienced design-led marketing executive (CMO and GM) with a track record of improved market position, revenue growth, and M&A. He is an advance degreed psychologist and user experience product/service design expert, board member and advisor. Jerome recently retired from Rambus as where he was CMO and GM of the security software division that he led the sale to Visa. He has had a variety of chief marketing officer and chief user experience officer roles at companies including Human Factors International, SLP InfoWare, Gemplus, and Sagem. He started his career in the IBM Human Factors Labs. He is also an avid cyclist with National and multiple California State Champion titles.

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