Arts and Sciences honors new graduates during May 3 commencement ceremonies
糖心vlog will celebrate its Spring 2024 graduates Friday, May 3, and Saturday, May 4, with six commencement ceremonies at the Donald L. Tucker Civic Center.
College of Arts and Sciences graduates will participate in two ceremonies on Friday. Doctoral students will be hooded at the 9 a.m. ceremony, while undergraduate and master鈥檚 students will cross the stage during the 7 p.m. ceremony.
The evening ceremony will feature a commencement address from U.S. Rep. Neil Dunn from Florida鈥檚 2nd Congressional District, which includes Tallahassee. Nearly a quarter 鈥 more than 1,800 鈥 of the 7,813 degrees FSU will award this spring are undergraduate and graduate students from arts and sciences disciplines.
鈥淪pring commencement is our largest, and it allows students to close out one chapter while looking ahead to the next,鈥 said Sam Huckaba, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. 鈥淲e hope to send off graduates in a way that meaningfully celebrates their achievements while cementing a long-standing connection to the college and university.鈥
Judah Bachmann, Bella Bozied, and Cynthia Norris are among the college鈥檚 1,810 Spring 2024 graduates. Bachmann and Bozied will receive bachelor鈥檚 degrees, and Norris will be awarded a doctorate.
Bachmann earned his bachelor鈥檚 degree in linguistics through the . During Summer 2023, he participated in in Paris to learn the language from native speaking faculty while being immersed in the French culture.
鈥淭he intricacies of human communication fascinate me, and linguistics offers the ideal environment to explore those intricacies on a scientific level,鈥 Bachmann said.
Last spring, Bachmann recognized the need for community within the , so he co-founded the Linguistics Organization, known as , a student-led organization where FSU undergraduate students, graduate students, and faculty can collaborate and connect on topics related to this area of study.
Through the Center for Undergraduate Research and Academic Engagement鈥檚 , Bachmann conducted arts-based research through his position as an audio editor on 鈥淥pen Call,鈥 a podcast focused on interviews with contemporary fine artists. Bachmann was also the co-sponsorships and outreach senior film programmer for FSU鈥檚 through which he organized more than 25 individual film-related events including the FSU .
Bachmann will attend the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill this fall to pursue a master鈥檚 degree in linguistics.
Bozied is also preparing for the future by combining her study of humanities and science by double majoring in editing, writing, and media through the and information, communication, and technology through the .
鈥淓WM strengthened my writing, rhetoric, and comprehension skills while ICT built my confidence, leadership, and technical skills,鈥 Bozied said. 鈥淧airing these two majors taught me intertwining skills that make me a more competitive job candidate and a better leader.鈥
Bozied served as editor-in-chief of , the publication of FSU鈥檚 Panhellenic community. Simultaneously, she was the president of , an online female-oriented magazine with nationwide college chapters.
鈥淗er Campus gave me a space to cultivate my voice and strengthen my portfolio,鈥 Bozied said. 鈥淚鈥檝e interviewed incredible people such as Gabrielle Carle, who was a member of the FSU Soccer Team and won an Olympic gold medal on the Canadian national team in 2021, and Devyn Flaherty, who was an FSU softball star.鈥
Bozied won the Department of English鈥檚 2023 Gerald Ensley Emerging Journalist Award for her article 鈥.鈥 She will continue at FSU this fall, pursuing a master鈥檚 degree in integrated marketing communications.
Norris first enrolled at FSU in 2003 and completed a bachelor鈥檚 in health teacher education in 2007 before going on to earn a master鈥檚 in public health from Florida A&M University in 2009. Now, just over 20 years since she first came to FSU, Norris has earned a doctorate in developmental psychology from the .
鈥淚鈥檓 a first-generation student, so graduating with my bachelor's and master's degrees was a huge celebration for my family,鈥 Norris said. 鈥淎 doctorate has an even broader impact, showing what can be achieved by individuals from Black and brown communities."
Before returning to FSU, Norris worked for the Florida Department of Health for a combined eight years. She is both a McKnight Doctoral Fellow and Institute for Educational Sciences FIREFLIES Training Fellow for her interdisciplinary training and research in educational sciences with a focus on reading.
鈥淭hroughout my public health career, literacy as a social determinant of health was a common thread,鈥 Norris said. 鈥淭his broadened my career interests, including children's health and educational outcomes. Postgraduation, I鈥檓 excited to apply my training to support research that has broader implications for the public.鈥
Following graduation, Norris will join FSU鈥檚 Office Research Development as the research development coordinator for STEM disciplines where she will work with faculty to foster new research ideas and develop grant proposals and research collaborations.
For more about FSU鈥檚 Spring 2024 commencement activities, a full schedule of events, and livestream links, visit .