Worcester's notable graduates: Here's the list from Goddard to Fauci

WORCESTER - College towns across the country are flooded with newly minted alumni celebrating their graduation this month. Worcester is no exception.

And with multiple well-reputed schools, the city has no shortage of notable graduates. Here are a few:

Worcester Polytechnic Institute 

Nancy Pimental, 1987: One of the writers of the adult animated sitcom "South Park," Pimental also succeeded Jimmy Kimmel as co-host of the Comedy Central game show, "Win Ben Stein's Money."

Naveen Selvadurai, 2003: An entrepreneur, he was the co-founder of the popular location based social networking app, Foursquare.

Edwin Eugene Aldrin Sr., 1917: A Worcester native, most people associate the name Aldrin with his son, astronaut Buzz Aldrin of moon landing fame, but Aldrin Sr. was famous in his own right, as an aviator in both World Wars I and II.

Pascale Fung, 1988: As artificial intelligence continues to become a part of the workforce, it’s people like Pascale Fung who will be at the forefront, as the director of the Center for AI Research at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. A focal point of her research pertains to building intelligent systems that can understand and empathize with humans.

More Resilience on the mind of WPI senior Susanna Oppong as she prepares commencement speech

Clark University

Robert H. Goddard, 1911: Considered the father of modern rocketry, Goddard is credited with building the world’s first liquid fueled rocket, which was successfully launched March 16, 1926.

D’Army Bailey, 1964: A civil rights activist, Bailey completed his degree at Clark University after having been expelled for leading anti-segregation protests at his old school. As director of the Worcester Student Movement, he even hosted Malcom X as a guest speaker at Clark. He would go on to practice law and be an influential figure in the civil rights movement.

Ben Bagdikian, 1941: A Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, Bagdikian played a major role in publishing the "Pentagon Papers" as a staff member of The Washington Post.

Christopher Collier, 1951: A historian and children's author, Collier’s work includes titles such as “My Brother Sam is Dead” dealing with the Revolutionary War and “Jump Ship to Freedom” which discusses slavery in America.

Alexander Gould, 2013: Best known for being the voice of Nemo in the Pixar animated film, “Finding Nemo,” he also played a major role in all eight seasons of the critically acclaimed television show, “Weeds” on Showtime.

Worcester State University

Raymond Mariano, 1980: Mariano has held multiple positions in city government, from mayor in 1993 to 2002, city Councilor from 1982 to 2002, to head of the Worcester Housing Authority.

Jimmy Kang, 2006: The CEO and founder of Str8 Up Entertainment Group Inc., Kang is a music producer and manager specializing in hip-hop and vice president of Wu-Tang Management.

Tyler Boudreau 1994: A U.S. Marine Corps veteran and author, Boudreau served in Iraq starting in 2004. Upon returning home, he wrote the book, “Packing Inferno: The Unmaking of a Marine” about his experiences in the war and continues to be a strong advocate for veterans.

Donald Nardo, 1974:  Nardo holds the title of one the most prolific authors in the United States, having published over 540 books. As a historian, he primarily focuses on historical fiction for children and teens, specializing in ancient history.

Brian Skerry, 1984: An American photojournalist and marine photographer, Skerry has done over 30 stories for National Geographic and is best known for his project, “The Secrets of the Whales” a mini-series that can be seen on Disney+.

More Worcester State University honors grads Saturday at commencement in DCU Center

Assumption University

Andy Hallet, 1997: Hallet got his start in acting with a recurring role on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer spin-off, Angel.

Deonte Harty, 2019: Harty is a National Football League player for the Buffalo Bills.

Donald D’Amour, 1964: Big Y Foods is a household name. D’Amour succeeded his father and company founder as chairman of the board in 1997. In 2019, he stepped down to become a board advisor after being CEO for almost four decades.

College of the Holy Cross

Anthony Fauci, 1962: Fauci held the position of director at the National Institute for Allergies and Infectious Diseases from 1984 to 2022, becoming a familiar face during the COVID-19 pandemic. He also played a key role in designing the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief to combat the disease in the developing world.

Clarence Thomas, 1971: Supreme Court Justice since 1991, he succeeded Thurgood Marshall after being nominated by President George H.W. Bush.

Kevin O’Connor, 1990: O’Connor has been the host of the reality renovation series, “This Old House” on PBS since 2003.

Bernard E. Trainor, 1951: A Marine corps lieutenant general, after retiring from military service, Trainor became a correspondent for the New York Times, analyst on NBC as well as a co-author of three historical works on the American military actions in Iraq.

Billy Collins, 1963: Named U.S. Poet Laureate in 2001 until 2003, Collins read his poem "The Names" before a special joint session of Congress on September 6, 2002 in memory of those who died in the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

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This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Worcester's notable graduates: Here's the list from Goddard to Fauci