Kean University awards degrees to 2,825 undergraduates

Staff Report
·2 min read

UNION — Kean University awarded diplomas to the 2,825 members of the class of 2022 Thursday during commencement at the Prudential Center in Newark.

The ceremony included a commencement address by Tony-nominated deaf actor Lauren Ridloff, who delivered it in American Sign Language which was translated by an interpreter. She urged the graduates to embrace diversity and inclusion, according to a university release.

“What I see right now at Kean University is diversity. I see inclusion. I see freedom,” Ridloff signed. “I see 3,000 agents of change.”

Kean University celebrated the 2,825 undergraduates of its Class of 2022 at a commencement, held at the Prudential Center in Newark for the first time since the start of the pandemic.
Kean University celebrated the 2,825 undergraduates of its Class of 2022 at a commencement, held at the Prudential Center in Newark for the first time since the start of the pandemic.

During the pandemic the past two years, Kean held smaller commencement ceremonies.

“This commencement ceremony looks very different from the ones we held last year and the year before,” Kean President Lamont O. Repollet said. “How exciting it is to be back here at the Prudential Center for a university-wide ceremony.”

READ: Plainfield police officer to be honored for thwarting man with machete outside church

Patrick Osiadacz of the Colonia section of Woodbridge, earned his bachelor's degree in English. A January 2022 graduate, Osiadacz has been working full-time as a special education teacher at J.P. Stevens High School in Edison. He said becoming a special education teacher is the fulfillment of a lifelong dream.

Deaf actor Lauren Ridloff delivered the Commencement address in American Sign Language with an interpreter at Kean University's Commencement, held Thursday at Prudential Center in Newark.
Deaf actor Lauren Ridloff delivered the Commencement address in American Sign Language with an interpreter at Kean University's Commencement, held Thursday at Prudential Center in Newark.

“I am super proud of myself,” he said. “My years at Kean have been amazing. I felt nothing but support. I could not have asked for a more successful academic career.”

Kean presented honorary degrees to benefactors John Bauer and his sister, Nancy Boucher, who have supported Kean’s Premiere Stages and the Bauer Boucher Theatre Center.

“Graduates, go out and do fantastic things," Valedictorian Isabel DeSanno DeSanno said. "Chase your dreams, be successful, and fail forward. Continue to make lasting impressions on your peers. Smile lots, laugh often, and do not forget where you came from.”

This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Kean University awards degrees to 2,825 undergraduates