East Stroudsburg University Announces Student Speakers for 2026 Commencement

 

East Stroudsburg University will hold its commencement exercises on Friday, May 8 and Saturday, May 9 in Koehler Fieldhouse. The graduate commencement ceremony will take place on Friday at 6:45 p.m. Rosie Santos ’19 M’26 will be the student commencement speaker. The undergraduate ceremonies will take place on Saturday. The ceremony awarding bachelor’s degrees from ESU’s College of Health Sciences and College of Business and Management will begin at 8:45 a.m. Vera Renshof ’26 will be the student speaker. The ceremony awarding bachelor’s degrees from ESU’s College of Arts and Sciences and College of Education will begin at 1:45 p.m. Natasha Merchant ’26 will be the student speaker. Peter Pruim, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus and Distinguished Professor, will be the grand marshal for all three ceremonies, which will honor ESU’s December 2025 and May 2026 graduates.

Rosie Santos, a master’s degree candidate from Delaware Water Gap, Pa., was selected from a pool of student speaker candidates to serve as the graduate student speaker for tonight’s commencement ceremony.

Santos, a graduate student in instructional design technology, is earning her second degree from ESU after receiving her bachelor’s degree in early childhood education in 2019. She is a second-grade teacher at J.M. Hill Elementary in the East Stroudsburg Area School District and is the STEAM*R program coordinator for the district, delivering in-person and online instruction integrating science, technology, engineering, arts, and culture.

Santos was a member of the U.S. Army for 10 years from 2013 to 2022 as a Medical Officer, 2nd Lieutenant. She served as platoon leader responsible for the readiness, training, and welfare of 30 soldiers and was a member of Company leadership overseeing approximately 100 personnel. She planned, executed, and assessed mission-oriented training and operational objectives.

A first-generation college student, Santos says that earning her undergraduate and graduate degrees made her feel significant responsibility to her family. Her time in the military shaped how she approaches responsibility and commitment, staying steady when things felt overwhelming and moving forward even when conditions were not ideal. She has taken that approach into her classroom, encouraging her students to work through challenges, and trusting that growth takes time. Instructional design technology has changed how she thinks about learning and the care that goes into it. She is representative of the graduate students who displayed discipline, sacrifice, and quiet persistence to earn their degrees.

Vera Renshof, a graduating public health major from Barneveld, Netherlands, stepped into the unknown when she left home four years ago to pursue her college and swimming career in the United States. She found community at ESU through small, consistent moments, and over time the university became a second home. She has grown academically, athletically and personally and reminds the graduating class that they can take brave steps, even when they do not feel entirely ready.

As a student-athlete, she holds multiple school records in the freestyle and was ESU’s first champion in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference in the sport since 1979. She has been a lifeguard for ESU’s athletic department, a member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, assisted with the health and wellness department providing student support, and is a nurse aide at an elder care facility when home in the Netherlands.

Natasha Merchant, a graduating psychology major from Bushkill, Pa., is a first-generation college student and member of ESU’s Honors Program who found a sense of belonging, purpose, and confidence in her ability to succeed during her time on campus. ESU gave her community and professors who were approachable and encouraged her to do research focused on positive psychology and student success.

She was recently accepted into a clinical doctoral program to continue pursuing her career. Her experience includes an internship as a behavioral health technician at her high school, returning to the same building where she had struggled as a student. She holds multiple certifications, has contributed to 10 research presentations, was a research team leader, received the Sigma Xi top researcher award, is a volunteer at a local mosque, and has been a peer tutor.

Dr. Peter Pruim is Emeritus Professor in the Department of Modern Languages, Philosophy, and Religious Studies. He is the recipient of the 2020 ESU Distinguished Professor Award. Dr. Pruim joined the ESU faculty in 1997 and served the Philosophy program for 25 years. He has published on the relationship between mind and brain, epistemology, and logic, as well as in the journal Teaching Philosophy. His contributions to the academic life of ESU students include co-directing the Honors Program, initiating the One Book/One Campus reading program, inviting Noam Chomsky to address the campus, bringing the author and future Governor of Maryland Wes Moore to speak, and developing the First-Year Experience program – for which he edited a textbook, University Matters. Dr. Pruim remains a campus presence, sharing his border collie Rose with students for the Pause for Paws therapy-dog service at Kemp Library each week.

Christopher Hunt ’02 Ed.D. ’19 will be the keynote speaker at the graduate commencement ceremony on Friday. Zachary McDowell ’08, M.D. will be the keynote speaker for both undergraduate ceremonies on Saturday.

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