TicketsCINCINNATI - Over the weekend, the University of Cincinnati community celebrated the graduation of the Class of 2020 which also included 88 student-athletes that represented each team and both cheer and dance. All told, four Bearcats earned their Master's degrees while four others graduated from UC with double majors.
Because of the ongoing COVID-19 global pandemic, UC's annual commencement was unable to be held on campus. That did not stop the celebrations online as Bearcats Athletics posted videos featuring numerous graduating student-athletes while Student-Athlete Support Services (SASS) recognized many of the graduates with tweets throughout the week leading up to 'graduation weekend'.
Overall, football led the way with 13 graduates while both women's swimming and diving and women's soccer saw nine of its players earn their degrees, including soccer players Dee Picou, who earned degrees in both Marketing and International Business, and Holyn Alf, who attained her Master's in Business Administration. Women's golf saw two players graduate with a combined four degrees as Alyssa Burritt earned degrees in Mathematics and Physics while teammate Daniela Murcia doubled in Accounting and Finance. The final double major came from the dance team's Tess Palluzzi, who earned degrees in both Biological Sciences and Environmental Sciences.
Three other players also earned their Master's degrees were major contributors in their careers, including Jeremy Johnson (baseball), Tre Scott (basketball) and Jordan Thompson (volleyball). Johnson, who earned his degree in Sport Administration, was a member of the 2019 American Athletic Conference All-Tournament Team as UC captured its first AAC crown and advanced to the NCAA regional tournament in Corvallis, Ore.
Scott, who earned his degree in Sport Administration, had a hand in helping the Bearcats to three NCAA Tournament appearances in his career (2019-20 NCAA Tournament was canceled) and capped his career with a slew of awards, including being named the AAC Defensive Player of the Year, AAC Most Improved Player of the Year, First Team All-AAC, recipient of the AAC Sportsmanship Award and a candidate for the 2019-20 Senior CLASS Award.
Thompson, who earned her Master's degree in Criminal Justice, recently capped one of the best seasons in program history as she was named UC's first AVCA First Team All-American after being named the AVCA North Region Player of the Year. She also finished her career ranking seventh in kills (2,664) in NCAA history while helping UC to the NCAA Regionals for the first time in program history in 2019.
// GRADUATE REFLECTIONS
Five videos were shared on the Cincinnati Bearcats twitter account (@GoBearcats) over the weekend as members of the graduating class reflected on their time at Cincinnati:
"I will always and forever be thankful for this university and the opportunity it gave me."
— Cincinnati Bearcats (@GoBEARCATS) May 2, 2020
Graduating seniors reflect for #UCGrad20. 🎓 pic.twitter.com/cQMkbPbXxm
"I can say for sure that my choice in going to UC is the best one I've ever made, and I'm so fortunate to have spent that time here these past four years."
— Cincinnati Bearcats (@GoBEARCATS) May 2, 2020
Graduating seniors reflect for #UCGrad20. 🎓 pic.twitter.com/yNcFQgv0wm
"The people that I was able to surround myself with always found ways to challenge me and bring out the best version of myself."
— Cincinnati Bearcats (@GoBEARCATS) May 2, 2020
Graduating seniors reflect for #UCGrad20. 🎓 pic.twitter.com/xVQCkzMtgW
"What I'll miss most about being a Bearcat is being surrounded by excellence at all times. Whether in athletics or academics, all my professors, fellow students, and fellow student-athletes pushed me to be better."
— Cincinnati Bearcats (@GoBEARCATS) May 2, 2020
Graduating seniors reflect for #UCGrad20. 🎓 pic.twitter.com/8QxN510RJT
"I think my favorite part was being able to stay home––being able to grow up in Cincinnati and then play for a school that I adored my entire childhood."
— Cincinnati Bearcats (@GoBEARCATS) May 2, 2020
Graduating seniors reflect for #UCGrad20. 🎓 pic.twitter.com/uKu1zN8M0N
// SOCIAL RECOGNITION
Leading up to the weekend reflections, SASS also shared tweets on many of the graduates, including future plans for the graduates:
Men's Swim & Dive: Tweet
Women's Swim & Dive: Tweet #1 | Tweet #2
Men's Basketball: Tweet
Football: Tweet #1 | Tweet #2 | Tweet #3
Women's TF/XC: Tweet #1 | Tweet #2
Men's TF/XC: Tweet #1 | Tweet #2
Women's Soccer: Tweet #1 | Tweet #2 | Tweet #3
Lacrosse: Tweet #1 | Tweet #2
Baseball: Tweet #1 | Tweet #2
Women's Basketball: Tweet
// 2020 BEARCATS SPRING GRADUATES (87)
Baseball (7)
Vince Augustine • Computer Science
Joey Bellini • Entrepreneurship
Mitch Holding • Sociology
Jeremy Johnson • Sport Administration (Master's)
Jace Mercer • Sport Administration
Nathan Moore • Marketing
Chase Stewart • Organizational Leadership
Basketball, Men's (4)
Adam Cook • Interdisciplinary Studies
Jarron Cumberland • Criminal Justice
John Koz • Finance
Tre Scott • Sport Administration (Master's)
Basketball, Women (4)
Antoinette Miller • Health Education
Angel Rizor • Health Education
Sam Rodgers • Dietetics
Florence Sifa • Interdisciplinary Studies
Football (13)
Gerrid Doaks • Criminal Justice
Joel Dublanko • Geology
Mason Garrison • Sport Administration
Darius Harper • Criminal Justice
Javan Hawes • Sport Administration
Wilson Huber • Finance
Aulden Knight • Interdisciplinary Studies
Malick Mbodj • Criminal Justice
Vincent McConnell • Marketing
Elijah Ponder • Interdisciplinary Studies
Joe Schroer • Operations Management
Nick Staderman • Sport Administration
Collin Widecan • Mathematics
Golf, Men (1)
Jake Fox • Health Education
Golf, Women (2)
Alyssa Burritt • Mathematics & Physics (double)
Daniela Murcia • Accounting & Finance (double)
Lacrosse (6)
Monica Borzillo • Early Childhood Education
Adrianna Fess • Communication
Alexandra Fess • Communication
Amanda Fess • Liberal Studies
Madison Foery • Communication
Taylor Kozloski • Liberal Studies
Soccer, Men (4)
Mohamed Elmardi • Organizational Leadership
Cameron Panley • Communication
Donovan Segree • Interdisciplinary Studies
Aerin West • Interdisciplinary Studies
Soccer, Women (9)
Julia Abbott • Operations Management
Holyn Alf • Business Administration (Master's)
Bri Costigan • Biological Sciences
Sydney Goins • Nursing
Libby Greenwell • Health Sciences
Sydney Kilgore • Biological Sciences
Madison Less • Accounting
Dee Picou • Marketing & International Business (double)
Michelle Travassos • Criminal Justice
Swimming & Diving, Men (4)
George Epsly • English
Tyler Jones • Marketing
Joey Puglessi • Marketing/Finance
Din Selmanovic • Neuroscience-Neurobiology
Swimming & Diving, Women (9)
Audrey Capannari • Political Science
Laura Johnston • Communication Sciences and Disorders
Rocky Laabs • Communication
Simone Palomo • Health Sciences
Ellen Posch • Industrial Design
Tricia Roscoe • Business Analytics
Claire Schuermann • Interdisciplinary Studies
Alexandra Wall • Health Sciences
Michaela Wheeler • Biological Sciences
Tennis (1)
Caroline Morton • Nutrition and Dietetics
Track & Field/Cross Country, Men (8)
Logan Baker • Sport Administration
Jake Barnes • Nursing
Damien Berthenet • Information Technology
Aaron Bienenfeld • Interdisciplinary Studies
James Eblen • Marketing
Ausitn Edwards • Communications
Nicholas Lauria • Finance
Chris Province • Criminal Justice
Track & Field/Cross Country, Women (8)
Lily Bunse • Health Sciences
Cassidy Carey • Chemical Engineering
Tes Corea • Mechanical Engineering
Tiona Lattimore • Sport Administration
Angelica Lightfoot • Psychology
Hannah Markel • Marketing
Irati Mitxelena • Neuroscience
Grace Winkowski • Chemical Engineering
Volleyball (2)
Damjana Cabarkapa • Health Education
Jordan Thompson • Criminal Justice (Master's)
Cheer (6)
Jessie Backscheider • Marketing
Jace Bonvenzi • Chemical Engineering
Cameron Richards • Chemical Engineering
Liane Siefker • Health Science
Kelsey Smothers • Health Education
Kennedy Snyder • Accounting
Dance (4)
Emily Berning • Marketing
Tess Palluzzi • Biological Sciences & Environmental Sciences (double)
Mackenzie Sherry • Secondary Education
Sierra Zwenger • Aerospace Engineering