WEST LIBERTY, W.Va., May 5, 2021 — West Liberty University will graduate its first cohort of students earning a Master of Science in Dental Hygiene (MSDH) at 5 p.m., Friday, May 7, 2021 in the Academic, Sports and Recreation Complex (ASRC).
It will be a live, socially-distanced ceremony that honors all graduates earning a master degree in 2021 except for physician assistants, whose ceremony is in June due to clinical rotations. The Graduate Commencement Ceremony as well asl all undergraduate commencement ceremonies also will be streamed live by Topper Station for those who cannot attend or prefer a virtual ceremony.
“Friday’s ceremony represents a first in several ways. It’s our first totally separate Graduate Degree ceremony for all of our programs and our very first class of MSDH graduates,” said Sara Sweeney, director of Graduate Programs, who is an alumna and has been employed at WLU for 15 years.
MSDH graduates include:
- Monica Calvert, Triadelphia, W.Va.
- Katherine Gill, Gibsonia, Pa.
- Megan Ciacci Petrella, Steubenville, Ohio
- Katherine Schwertfeger, Wheeling, W.Va.
- Lisa Sinicropi, Blacklick, Ohio
“A lot of time and energy went into the planning, development, and implementation of this online MSDH program. It is rewarding to see the fruits of our labor as evident in this first successful class of graduates, and it is wonderful to see these students achieve their academic and career goals,” said Stephanie Meredith, RDH MSDH who is the program director of both the undergraduate and graduate dental hygiene programs.
Besides the MSDH program, graduate degree programs taking part in the ceremony include master’s in Biology, Criminology, Education, Professional Studies and the MBA. A total of 72 graduate level students will graduate this May.
Last spring’s graduate commencement ceremony was virtual due to the pandemic, so an invitation to participate in the 2021 ceremony was extended to 2020 graduate students as well.
“We’ve invited students who would have graduated last spring and in our fall ceremony so they can experience the pomp and circumstance if they wish,” added Sweeney.
The MSDH students are leaving a special mark on commencement by initiating a new scholarship to pay-it-forward and create a fund for future MSDH students.
“We wanted to create a new scholarship to assist future students anxious to earn their master’s degree in this new program,” said Lisa Sinicropi, who started the ball rolling.
All five of the MSDH graduates earned their undergraduate degrees in dental hygiene at West Liberty University’s Sara Whitaker Glass School of Dental Hygiene, housed in the College of Sciences.
Graduate programs are growing at WLU and recently added several concentrations in the master’s in Education, the master’s in Athletic Training and in Exercise Physiology. WLU also has a Graduate Certificate in Healthcare Management.
For more information, please visit www.westliberty.edu or call 1.866.WESTLIB.