With Light Hearts Under Gray Skies, Gateway Graduates 701

New Haven, CT, (May 23, 2025) CT State Community College Gateway’s Class of 2025 gathered at the Hartford HealthCare Amphitheater in Bridgeport to celebrate Commencement. Showers fell on the procession of students and faculty, but couldn’t dampen the spirits of the graduates, their family and friends.

CT State Gateway conferred 900 certifications and degrees to 701 graduates, 411 of whom are first generation college graduates.

Gateway’s Class of 2025 was 432 women and 269 men, 5 percent of whom are New Haven residents. Graduates ranged in age from 17 to 73. Two crossed the stage to receive their diploma with babies in their arms.

Twelve graduates had a perfect grade point average of 4.0. 56 graduated with highest honors, and 79 of the graduates are members of the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society.

Fifty-one percent of all graduates were Pell grant eligible and 178 had received the Mary Ann Handley Scholarship, a state program that provides free community college tuition.

The five academic programs with the highest graduation rates were Nursing (93), Business Administration (88), Liberal Arts and Sciences (87), Automotive Technology (63), and Health Career Pathway (48).

Richard Lint was awarded Student of the Year. A Culinary Arts major, he led a cross-departmental initiative to create and publish Gateway’s first cookbook.

Roberta Hoskie, Ph.D., a global wealth strategist, media personality, real estate broker, best-selling author, and chair of the Gateway Alumni Network Advisory Board was the featured Alumni Speaker. Dr. Hoskie was a teenage, single, unhoused mother when she attended Gateway and hopes her story will inspire graduates to make similar transformations in their own lives.

William Ginsberg, President and CEO of the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven (retired) received the Dorsey L. Kendrick Community Leadership Award.

Christie Jeanty Gateway ’25 always thought about working in health care, but it took some medical complications of her own to discover diagnostic medical sonography. was a “perfect fit” for her.

“I wanted a fulfilling career that had a positive impact on people’s lives,” she recalled. “The sonographers I had were amazing.”

She said diagnostic medical sonographers do everything from helping expectant mothers to capturing ultrasound images that lead to a lifesaving treatment.

Christie worked hard to earn her impressive 3.96 GPA.

“I was in an intensive program,” she explained. “I spent most of my time either going to classes, attending clinical assignments, or studying.” She also works part time at Stamford Hospital to support herself.

Aurelie Elias began her journey at Gateway with one clear vision: to become a software engineer and create applications that improve lives. As a full-time Engineering Science student, she’s preparing to build a future where she makes a tangible difference.

Aurelie’s story is powerful because the Platt Technical High School alum and Gateway grad is already turning that ambition into action. While balancing a full-time course load, Aurelie worked as a full-time software developer, applying what she learned in real-time to create solutions that impact users.

Aurelie plans to transfer to the University of Connecticut to earn her Bachelor’s in Software Engineering.

“Education is a powerful tool, but it’s the opportunity to apply what you’ve learned that truly makes the difference,” said Aurelie. “I’m already creating software that helps people, and this is just the beginning.”

Jeannie Tran’s Capstone project in her Engineering and Applied Technologies course showed technical skill, practicality, and tremendous heart.

Because her dad is fighting cancer and has a caregiver who isn’t always able to be at his side, she was inspired to engineer a smart pill dispenser.

It includes a sensor that alerts the user when a dose of medicine is due. It notifies the caregiver when the medication is administered, and it sends a reminder if a dose is missed.

The pill dispenser is connected to Bluetooth and is thoughtfully designed to accommodate users with compromised fine motor skills.

Martin Guay Chair of the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities Board of Regents gave the following words of encouragement to Jeannie, Aurelie, Christie, Richard and all the members of the Class of 2025, “ We are proud to count you among our alumni and we look forward to watching you lead, serve and inspire. So, congratulations to the Class of 20025 on your new chapter! I look forward to witnessing the positive impact you will have on the state of Connecticut and beyond.”

The ceremony was abbreviated and delayed 24 hours due to forecasted nor’ easterly winds and low temperatures.