East Stroudsburg University Announces Speakers for Commencement Ceremonies

East Stroudsburg University will hold six ceremonies for commencement exercises this spring – Friday, April 30 at 6 p.m. in the Abeloff Center for the Performing Arts; and Saturday, May 1 at 9 a.m.; Friday, May 7 at 5 p.m.; and Saturday, May 8 at 9 a.m., 1:30 p.m., and 6 p.m. in Eiler-Martin Stadium.

Douglas Lare, Ed.D, retired distinguished professor of professional and secondary education will deliver the commencement address at the ceremony that celebrates doctoral students from the classes of 2020 and 2021 on April 30. Anthony Drago, Ed.D, distinguished professor of psychology and chair of ESU’s psychology department will address the class of 2020 during the May 1 ceremony. Leila Bouchekouk ’20 and Dushan Chacon ’20 will also address their classmates whose commencement celebrations were held virtually last year due to COVID-19.

On Friday, May 7 the 2021 graduates from ESU’s College of Arts and Sciences will be addressed by Artress Bethany White, Ph.D., associate professor of English and Brian Ellis, a graduate student studying communication from Philadelphia, Pa. Kimberley A. Razzano, Ph.D., professor and department chair of health studies along with Theodore R. Mostellar, an athletic training major with a concentration in professional practice from Stroudsburg, will address the College of Health Sciences on Saturday, May 8 at 9 a.m. Daisy Wang, Ph.D., associate professor of business management and Julia Rickard, a hotel, restaurant and tourism management major from Reading, Pa., will address the College of Business and Management at 1:30 p.m. Andrew Whitehead, Ph.D. associate professor and department chair of early childhood and elementary education and Kya’ Smith, an early childhood education major from Union, N.J., will address the College of Education at 6 p.m.

DOCTORAL CEREMONY

Dr. Douglas Lare, retired distinguished professor of professional and secondary education, began his career as a social studies teacher in the late 1970s in Minnesota. Dr. Lare joined ESU’s professional and secondary education department in 1998. He has taught courses at all levels, from undergraduate teacher prep to doctoral leadership.

Dr. Lare served as ESU’s doctoral coordinator in partnership with Indiana University of Pennsylvania from 1999-2016. He helped launch the first doctoral program at ESU in 2016 by obtaining approval from Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education, Middle States Commission on Higher Education, and the Pennsylvania Department of Education to offer a doctorate and a superintendent letter of eligibility.

As coordinator, he helped develop the curriculum for 10 cohorts, with the 11th cohort scheduled to start in fall 2021.  Dr. Lare developed a dissertation process for the program and organized 28 doctoral retreats focusing on leadership issues. Under his leadership, ESU’s doctoral graduation rate is over 82 percent, well above the national average.

Along with Intermediate 20, Dr. Lare developed a National Board Teacher Certification program in Pennsylvania. National Board candidates throughout the state work with trained facilitators as they prepare their NBCT application. Dr. Lare and ESU have led the way to improve this process. He has also secured grants for field experiences including archeology digs in Pennsylvania and Ohio, work with historical societies to develop case studies, and programs with the United States State Department.

Dr. Lare has served on various committees at ESU, is a member of Phi Delta Kappa, Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, National Association of Secondary School Principals, National Council for the Social Studies, and American Education Research Association.

2020 CEREMONY

Dr. Anthony Drago, distinguished professor of psychology and chair of ESU’s psychology department, became a faculty member at the university in 1987. He earned a bachelor’s in psychology from East Stroudsburg State College in 1976, a master’s in psychology from Marywood University in 1980, and a doctorate in counseling psychology from Lehigh University in 1987. He was awarded distinguished professor at ESU in 2018.

Dr. Drago is a licensed psychologist and has a private practice in clinical psychology, and is a consulting psychologist for numerous health & law enforcement organizations in Monroe County. Dr. Drago is a member of the Allied Medical Staff, Lehigh Valley Hospital-Pocono. Prior to coming to ESU, he was director of mental health services at Pocono Medical Center. He was a clinical associate professor in the doctoral program of Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine.

Dr. Drago has developed and co-developed a number of new programs at ESU including a certificate in crisis intervention, a minor in sport and exercise psychology, and a master’s in management and leadership, organizational behavior concentration. He serves on numerous academic committees, regional committees, and governing bodies.

He is an active scholar. He has given numerous presentations at local, national, and international conferences, and has lectured in China, Costa Rica, and St. Croix. He is a member of the American Psychological Association and the Pennsylvania Psychological Association.

Dr. Drago is the faculty mentor for the ESU football team. In 2020, he was named the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference nominee for the NCAA Faculty Mentor Award.

Leila Bouchekouk graduated from ESU in May 2020 with a degree in chemistry and minors in Spanish and public health from East Stroudsburg. During her time at ESU, Bouchekouk conducted five research projects, was published by the Malala Fund, served as the president of Rotaract and the vice president of the Pre-Medicine Organization, and was highly involved in the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW) and the ESU Community Health Organization (CHO). She says that her most humbling role during her time at ESU was to serve the student body as president of the Student Government Association with an amazing team of student leaders and staff. Together they led reform for campus diversity and inclusion efforts, indigenous communities, the mental health needs of students, and college affordability.

Off campus, Bouchekouk dedicated her time to service through volunteering with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) to raise awareness and fundraise for the cure of Type 1 Diabetes, and served as a conference director for the Rotary Youth Leadership Awards. In 2019 she was one of five women awarded the Monroe County Women Visionary Champion of Peace and Nonviolence by the Monroe County Women’s Commission, and in 2020 she was selected to receive the ESU Service Award. She currently works on behalf of the Pennsylvania Department of Health to help curb the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dushan Chacon graduated from ESU in December 2020 with a degree in criminal justice. Known as “Fluffy” around campus, Chacon is from Paradise Township, Pa. and is originally from Brooklyn, N.Y. He was a first-generation college student, first attending Northampton Community College where he earned his associate degree in criminal justice, before continuing his academic career at ESU. He was involved in a number of clubs and organizations on campus, including serving as president and public relations chair of the Latin American Association, and participating as a member of MANA, a national Latina organization, and the Men of Color Association. Chacon was also a student ambassador, a peer mentor for new students, and held an on-campus job working for ARAMARK, ESU’s food service provider, in Dansbury Commons.

“As a student and a citizen, I strove to work hard on the things I love, and to always build connections with others, because you never know what knowledge you may gain from them,” Chacon said. “I urge my fellow graduates and fellow Warriors to never give up just because you fail the first time. Don’t let others, or your past, bring you down. Use those experiences as your strength and armor because that’s what builds character. When you leap over every obstacle that was put in your way but you’re still standing tall, you’ll achieve many great things!”

2021 CEREMONIES

COLLEGE OF ARTS & SCIENCES

Dr. Artress Bethany White, associate professor of English, is a poet, essayist, and literary critic. She is the recipient of the Trio Award for her poetry collection, My Afmerica: poems, published by Trio House Press in 2019. Her debut essay collection, Survivor’s Guilt: Essays on Race and American Identity, was published by New Rivers Press in 2020 and is listed as a Community of Literary Magazines and Presses social justice read.

Dr. White’s prose and poetry have appeared in such journals as Harvard Review, Poetry, Solstice, Pleiades, Tahoma Review, Green Mountains Review, Tupelo Quarterly, Ecotone, and The Hopkins Review. Her literary criticism appears in the anthologies Literary Expressions of African Spirituality, published by Lexington Press in 2013, and Seeking Home: Marginalization and Representation in Appalachian Literature and Song, published by University of Tennessee Press in 2017. She has received fellowships, scholarships, and residencies from The Appalachian College Association, the Hambidge Center for Creative Arts, the Sewanee Writers’ Conference, The Writer’s Hotel, and the Tupelo Press/MASS MoCA studios. Her research interests include American slave archives and contemporary African American poetics.

Brian Ellis, a graduate student from Philadelphia, Pa. is receiving his master’s degree in Communication, after graduating from ESU with his bachelor’s degree as a double major in communication and English in May 2020. He has held leadership positions on campus as president of Photography Club, president of Community Board Hemlock, the historian of PRSSA (Public Relations Student Society of America), and a member and contributor to SSWCJ (Sociology Social Work Criminal Justice Club), the Stroud Courier and Calliope. He was also a peer mentor, held on-campus work positions in the English department and copy center, was a graduate assistant for the communication department, and a retail associate at Walmart.

In his time at ESU, he has been able to grow as a person, becoming more confident at forming friendships with people he would not have met otherwise. He also appreciates the time he was able to work with some of the great faculty and staff on campus in his student worker positions. He has been challenged in ways he could not have imagined, learning, growing and helping others along the way. Ellis aims to allow the knowledge he has and research he does to inform and guide his decisions.

COLLEGE OF HEALTH SCIENCES

Dr. Kimberley A. Razzano is professor and department chair for the health studies department, where she has established her career in higher education since 2003. She received her Bachelor of Science from Springfield College in school health education, her Master of Public Health from ESU, and her Ph.D. in human development/health promotion from Marywood University.

Dr. Razzano has received many teaching awards, but service is her passion. She received the SHAPE PA Ethel Encke Service Award in 2015, and in 2018 was the recipient of SHAPE PA’s highest award, the Elmer B. Cottrell Award, which is awarded to an individual who has been outstanding and dynamic teacher and leader in the field of education. This past April she received Eastern District Linda Woods Huber Service Award. Dr. Razzano’s passion for service is split between children and animals.

Theodore Mostellar, an athletic training major with a concentration in professional practice from Stroudsburg, Pa., has combined his academic and extracurricular programs to pursue a master’s degree along with a graduate assistantship in athletic training upon his graduation from ESU. Mostellar, who was named as a recipient of the 2021 District 2 Paula Turocy Scholarship Award by the Eastern Athletic Trainers Association (EATA) last fall, was ESU’s Iota Tau Alpha (the athletic training honor society) chapter president and a member of the Athletic Training Student Club. He was also a member of the Warriors’ cross country and track and field programs for four years, a member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, and held a work study position for the Office of Field Experiences and Partnerships on campus.

His clinical rotations helped shape his outlook on his professional career, witnessing first-hand stressful situations that were handled by the preceptors and his fellow students that drove him to be prepared for every situation. He also learned that one can take many different paths to end up at the same spot, so don’t be afraid to do something different from those around you. Mostellar’s next stop is West Chester University for graduate school and his graduate assistantship.

COLLEGE OF BUSINESS & MANAGEMENT

Dr. Daisy Wang is an associate professor of business management. Born in Taiwan, she holds her bachelor’s degree in political science from National Chengchi University, her M.B.A. in finance and consulting from The Ohio State University, and her Ph.D. in management from Southern Illinois University. Her faculty course load includes organizational strategy, international management, logistics management, business statistics, entrepreneurship, and all other management-related courses.

Her diverse research interests include supply chain strategies, entrepreneurial orientations and mindsets studies under different cultural backgrounds, small business management strategies, and business education. Dr. Wang enjoys playing piano and traveling, and has visited all 50 states and more than 50 countries. Some of her most recent travel locations are Maldives, Bora Bora, Japan, China, Poland and Peru.

Julia Rickard, a hotel, restaurant and tourism management major from Reading, Pa., has had meaningful experiences both on and off campus during her time at ESU. Her academic major taught her how to give others a home-away-from-home experience while also showing all the possibilities and opportunities the industry has to offer. She worked as a student mentor in the Career Independent Living and Learning Studies (CILLS) program, teaching her responsibility, patience and how to work with individuals with intellectual disabilities such as Down syndrome and autism. The students taught her how to see the best in people and be more positive. As a member of ESU’s Christian Fellowship Club, she strengthened her faith in Jesus Christ and gained friendships that she prays will last a lifetime. She aims to always work hard and treat others with respect.

Rickard was also a member of the ESU Honors Program and had two off-campus work experiences, as a travel agent intern at the American Automobile Association (AAA) and in reservations at Carousel Resort and Condominiums.

COLLEGE OF EDUCATION

Dr. Andrew Whitehead is retiring from ESU after 19 years of service to the department of early childhood and elementary education. For 11 of those years, he served as department chair. He has taught many different courses in the department and has supervised student teachers, including this semester. Dr. Whitehead has served as the vice chair of the Academic Council of Chairs, and as a member of the Provost’s Leadership Team. He was also a member of the Academic Continuity Team (ACT) and the COVID-19 Integration and Communications Taskforce. In addition, Dr. Whitehead was elected and served as the legislative chair for ESU’s chapter of the Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculties (APSCUF) and was a member of the state APSCUF Legislative Executive Committee. He also served as a member of ESU’s APSCUF’s Executive Council.

Prior to his time at ESU, Dr. Whitehead was a third-grade teacher and elementary school principal. He proudly still holds current teaching and administrative certificates in both Pennsylvania and New York.

Kya’ Smith, an early childhood education major from Union, N.J., made the most of her ESU experience as a member of the Student Pennsylvania State Education Association, the Kappa Delta Pi education honor society, Active Minds, and the Black Student Union, along with her work as a peer mentor.

Smith says that her time on campus helped her break out of her shell after arriving at ESU as a shy and reserved student. Her involvement with the peer mentor program, providing freshmen with assistance with many things that she may have wanted during her own freshman experience, helped with opening up – along with taking pride in being part of several student organizations. ESU’s faculty made her feel comfortable asking for help and really made an impact on her educational career. She learned that she can continue to push herself one step further, to try new things when she feels it’s time to embrace challenges. Smith’s goal is to move back to New Jersey to teach at the elementary level (second to fourth grade) with her own classroom in a district that she loves, gaining meaningful experiences and making a positive impact on all of her students.

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