Seton Hall Class of 2012 Graduates Monday

Raise Hope Foundation’s Scott Chesney will address 1,290 graduates, who will become alumni of the nation’s oldest diocesan Catholic university, at Seton Hall University’s 155th Baccalaureate Commencement Ceremony on Monday, May 21, 2012 at the Izod Center in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

At the commencement exercises, the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters will be awarded to Kenneth F. Hackett who, until his recent retirement, was president of Catholic Relief Services (CRS), the worldwide relief and development agency active in more than 100 countries.

Audra Quintin will deliver the Salutatory Address. Andrew Fisher Felbinger will deliver the Valedictory Address. The Most Reverend John J. Myers, Archbishop of Newark, and University President A. Gabriel Esteban will also address the graduates. Seton Hall will graduate a total of approximately 2,498 undergraduate and graduate students this year. Separate ceremonies will be held for Seton Hall University’s 1,208 graduate students, who will become 2012 graduates.

After awaking to paralysis at the age of 15 from a sudden spinal stroke, Chesney amassed numerous transformational experiences including at Seton Hall University, where he graduated in 1992 with a B.A. in communication. A nationally and internationally recognized motivational speaker with positive and inspiring messages that have changed countless lives, he is an active member of the University's Leadership Advisory Council and lives in his native New Jersey with his wife and children. His Commencement theme will be "Celebrating and leveraging this defining moment."

Says  Chesney, “Seton Hall University was really about building a foundation, creating structure, and learning the art of self-discipline ... all three of which have helped me flourish with all the titles I hold today.  It is impossible to retain all the great knowledge that was passed along to me while I attended college, but somewhere at some time during the course of my journey through life, I constantly find myself reflecting and remembering a moment spent at The Hall which has helped me resolve an issue or get through a challenging moment in my life.  I would not change those years of college for anything.”