LIU Post president: 'Degree empowers you'
LIU Post's 55th commencement was held Friday under a tent on the Great Lawn on the school's Brookville campus.
NUMBER OF GRADUATES
939 bachelor's, 1,099 master's and 28 doctoral degrees
FACULTY SPEAKER
David J. Steinberg, who will retire this summer after 28 years as president of Long Island University, said a college degree is far more than amassing technical skills or improving a career. "Your degree empowers you in ways that can and will transform your life."
KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Rep. Steve Israel (D-Huntington) encouraged graduates to think about helping shape the future of Long Island and America. "If you make the right choices and have the right priorities, and invest all your energies, the world in 2013 will be a great place."
GUEST SPEAKER
Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) gave the Class of 2013 much of the same advice he gave the Class of 1999, and every graduating class in between: "Go for it!" As a young graduate, he said he passed up an opportunity to travel the world for a girlfriend — a story that doesn’t end well. “She dumped me by Labor Day,” Schumer said.
STUDENTS
Samantha Dell, 21, of Whitestone, Queens, bachelor of science degree in accounting
“I’m starting a full-time job in July and coming back to Post for my master’s in accounting,” she said. “I don’t see a limit for myself. I think I can achieve anything that comes my way.”
Simone Medley, 22, of Brooklyn, bachelor of arts degree in psychology
“I plan to go on for my master’s in higher education,” said Medley, who is the first person in her family to graduate from college. “I hope to always be in a college environment where I can help college students push themselves.”
Sir Charles Williams, 24, of Amityville, bachelor of arts degree in political science
“I plan to work for a year and then go to graduate school for either international relations or law but I’m going to work first,” said Williams who interviewed with the Hertz car rental company Friday. “The goal is to work first so I can get my own place.”
Michael Riggs, 21, of Centereach, bachelor of science degree in mathematics
“I want to be an actuary,” he said. ”It was between math and music when I was in high school, and I started doing math here and really fell in love with it.”
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NOAA winter weather forecast ... Congestion pricing back on table ... Critical Wyandanch schools report ... Veterans Day on LI ... Get the latest news and more great videos at NewsdayTV