Stetson University will award degrees to 785 students during two Spring Commencement ceremonies Saturday, May 12. The ceremony for students earning degrees through the School of Business Administration and School of Music will be at 9 a.m., and the ceremony for students in the College of Arts & Sciences will be at 2 p.m., both in the Edmunds Center, 143 E. Pennsylvania Ave., DeLand.

Stetson President Wendy B. Libby will give the “charge” at both ceremonies – a tradition where the president places a duty and responsibility upon the graduates. She will confer the degrees for 281 students who will receive graduate degrees and 504 undergraduates who will receive bachelor’s degrees. Spring Commencement includes all graduates who completed degree requirements in July 2011, December 2011 and May 2012.

Student speakers at the ceremonies are Jillian Masucci of Port Orange, Fla., representing the School of Business Administration; Sandra Perry of Apopka, Fla., representing the School of Music; and Alex Sanchez of Deltona, Fla., and Mariamne “Amne” Harrington of Orlando, Fla., representing the College of Arts & Sciences.

Graduating with a double major in finance and economics and a minor in psychology, Masucci, has dedicated her life to not only her studies but also to various organizations, including Pi Beta Phi, Alpha Kappa Psi and Stetson Recycles. She is a member of the Beta Gamma Sigma, Omicron Delta Epsilon and Psi Chi honor societies. She served as president of the business fraternity, economics honor society and Stetson Recycles concurrently this past year and was active in the Roland George Investments Program as a student trustee and scholar, all while maintaining a 4.0 GPA. Masucci received the J. Ollie Edmunds Scholarship, the Eugene M. Lynn Merit Award for Finance and the Paul E. Dascher Leadership Award. While at Stetson, she had the opportunity to study abroad in both China and Austria. Upon graduation, she plans to attend Washington University in St. Louis, Mo., for the Masters of Science in Finance program.

A native of Apopka, Perry is graduating with a bachelor’s degree in vocal music education. At Stetson, Perry was an avid member of the American Choral Directors Association, Collegiate Music Educators National Conference, the Florida Vocal Association, Florida Music Educators Association, Sigma Alpha Iota Women’s Music Fraternity and the Student Advisory Council for the School of Music. As a performer, she has performed with Stetson University Opera Theatre since 2008, with her most recent role being Susanna in Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro. She completed her student teaching at Colonial High School in Orlando in fall 2011, working with AP music theory and choral students. Upon graduation, she will be applying for positions as a choral director for middle and high schools in central Florida and currently teaches private voice and piano lessons.

Sanchez, a Puerto Rico native and first-generation college student, is graduating with a major in elementary education and a minor in psychology. He has dedicated his four years at Stetson to servant leadership in the community as a classroom assistant in a local elementary school, an education community organizer, co-founder of the campus IRS VITA free tax-preparation site, and senior intern of the Bonner Program. His leadership and experience has led Sanchez to serve in several university roles, such as the QEP Steering & Implementation Advisory Committee and the College of Arts & Sciences Dean Search Committee. Sanchez proudly represents Stetson as a speaker and workshop presenter at major orientation events on campus, as well as in state teacher conventions and in national conferences such as the IMPACT National Conference. A member of the Florida Future Educators of America, Kappa Delta Pi and Psi Chi honor societies, Sanchez desires to effect change in his field and become an advocate for education issues in the United States and abroad. Thanks to his passion for community engagement, scholarly growth, education and the success of our youth, Sanchez recently signed a contract with Volusia County Schools and will begin teaching in the fall of 2012.

Harrington, also a first-generation college student, is graduating with majors in political science and sociology. During her four years at Stetson, she was heavily involved in the Student Government Association, the Honor System Council and in Greek life. She is a member of Phi Eta Sigma, Omicron Delta Kappa, Alpha Kappa Delta, Pi Sigma Alpha, and Order of Omega. A regional winner of Pi Beta Phi’s Jean Wirths Scott Leadership Award for Outstanding Change Leadership as well as Stetson’s Greek Woman of the Year and the Greek Life Female Dedication Award, she plans to pursue a career in higher education and student affairs. After graduation, she will attend Bowling Green State University to pursue her Master of Arts degree in college student personnel. While earning her master’s degree, she will serve as a graduate intern in the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life and as a Greek House Director for one of BGSU’s on-campus sorority residence halls.

Commencement for the Stetson University College of Law will also be May 12, in Gulfport, with Lt. Cmdr. Nieva M.S. Brock, who serves as staff judge advocate and ethics counselor to the director of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS), presenting the commencement address. The College of Law has 317 graduates this spring.