Brookfield, Local Sacred Heart Masters Students Graduate in New Arena

BROOKFIELD, CT — Brookfield and area Sacred Heart University students celebrated the 58th Graduate Commencement Ceremony on Tuesday, May 7, and Wednesday, May 8, 2024. Thousands of Master's Degree students and their families flocked to the all-new Martime Family Arena. While the arena opened in January of 2023, Tuesday and Wednesday's Masters Degree students were the first to graduate in the $70 million premier hockey and skating arena, according to university officials.

According to SHU's website, "The Martire Family Arena is the crown jewel of Sacred Heart’s robust, multi-year building and expansion program, reflecting the institution’s significant growth and national status. The facility houses both the men’s and women’s NCAA Division I hockey programs, the University’s nationally ranked figure skating team and men’s club ice hockey team, as well as the women’s club program. The new arena also serves as a classroom for SHU students pursuing studies in the areas of sports communication & media, sports management and others."

The ceremony included words of welcome by Dr. Robin L. Cautin, Provost, conferral of an honorary degree by Dr. John J. Petillo to honor keynote speaker Andrew Banoff, President & CEO of Mozaic Senior Life in Bridgeport, the National Anthem sung by Matthew Ferri, Class of 2023, and the presentation of degrees by Dr. Mark A. Beekey and Dr. Karen Daley.

Prior to the 6 p.m. commencement, Masters students in the School of Social Work enjoyed a hooding ceremony on the West Campus.

"Social work is more than a job, more than a degree. It is a calling. It becomes how you move through the world supporting others in their hardest moments, bearing witness to the unimaginable, seeing injustice, calling out oppression, working to make the world a more just place because you are an agent of change," said Social Work Professor Amanda Harmon.
Interim Associate Dean Maura Rhodes said "we have pretty cool jobs."

"You come to us as individuals who want to help, who want to make change...we get to see you and send you out into the world to do what you came here to do," said Rhodes.

According to the graduation program, the hooding ceremony dates back to 13th-century England.
"Whether it’s origin is ecclesiastical or secular has never been settled. Hoods are 2 1/2 feet long for the associate degree, 3 feet for the bachelors, 3 1/2 feet for the masters, and 4 feet for the doctoral degree. The hood is lined with the colors of the institution – red and gray, in the case of Sacred Heart University. The trim color indicates the academic degree: white for the arts, letters and humanities, and golden yellow for science. The hoods of those graduate degrees, as well as the tassels on the undergraduates' mortar boards, are often in the color associated with the academic field specialization, as follows: White, arts, letters, and humanities, pink, music, peacock, blue, public administration, apricot, nursing, salmon, pink, public health, light, blue, education and counseling, slate, blue, occupational therapy, golden, yellow, science, orange, engineering, silver, gray, oratory, citron, sociology, social work, and criminal justice, purple, law, Green, physician, assistant, Scarlet, theology and religious studies, Crimson, media studies, Teal, physical therapy, “drab," business."

Due to the growing number of students in both the graduate and undergraduate classes, the university decided to separate commencement in five separate ceremonies—two for undergraduate and three for graduate.

"Our goal is to provide a wonderful experience for you and your families. We hope you will be as excited about these changes as we are. These ceremonies will be live streamed so that those who are unable to attend can watch either live or later. We look forward to celebrating with each of you," the University stated on their website.

Undergraduate ceremonies will be held on Saturday, May 11, 2024, at the Hartford Healthcare Amphitheater in Bridgeport.