Nearly 1,000 online learners will become Penn State graduates when the University holds its summer 2022 commencement exercises this Saturday, August 13.
The number of Penn State World Campus students expected to graduate is 951. The group consists of students graduating with degrees from 88 different graduate and undergraduate degree programs offered online.
Here is the breakdown by each kind of degree:
558 will earn a master’s degree
- 346 will earn a bachelor’s degree
- 47 will earn an associate degree
The graduating students range in age from 19 to 64, and they hail from 46 states, Washington, D.C., and 13 countries across the world.
There are 171 military students graduating.
Forty of the students are getting a second degree online through World Campus, and for 100 of the graduates, this is the second degree they've gotten from the University.
Celebrating graduates and their families
Graduates and their families are invited to attend the Summer 2022 Penn State World Campus Graduation Celebration at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park. The event is on August 13 from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and features two student speakers, Joanne DeMarco and Amanda Nelson.
DeMarco is receiving her Bachelor of Science in Integrated Social Sciences. She returned to school in fall 2016 after waiting more than 30 years to finish her degree. DeMarco was initially a student at Penn State in the 1980s but left school without graduating, a years-long regret. She was able to re-enroll to continue her education, this time getting her diploma.
DeMarco is excited to celebrate her achievement at the graduation ceremony. Her husband, three children, and three other members of her support team will join her in Happy Valley on Saturday.
“And I am looking forward to my next chapter, whatever that may be,” she said. “My time at World Campus was challenging, fulfilling, enlightening, tiring, inspiring … and one of the best decisions I have ever made.”
Nelson is graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Human Development and Family Studies. She enrolled in summer 2017. She remembers seeing advertisements for Penn State online programs.
“I did not choose Penn State World Campus; it chose me,” she said. “The more I researched Penn State World Campus, the more it felt like I belonged there.”
Nelson said college was not in her plans until she chose to change her life after battling a 17-year drug and alcohol addiction.
“I am so grateful Penn State World Campus took a chance on me because with the knowledge I have gained, I am now able to show others that change is possible in their lives as well,” Nelson said.
Now seven years sober, Nelson is preparing to join hundreds of other Penn State students at the Bryce Jordan Center to wear the blue cap and gown and celebrate getting her degree. She hopes to use her degree to build a program that combines addiction recovery and the banking and mortgage industry to help others thrive in their sober lives.
Congratulations to all graduates
Penn State World Campus students can attend a commencement ceremony with their fellow students from other Penn State campuses.
Congratulations to the students who are graduating this summer, and safe travels to those who are coming to Penn State with their families and friends to attend commencement.
Learn more about the degree and certificate programs offered online through Penn State World Campus.