New England Tech Announces Smithfield Grads

New England Institute of Technology (NEIT) held its 72nd commencement ceremony on Sunday, May 5, at the Rhode Island Convention Center in Providence, RI.

More than 1,000 students received Associate in Science, Bachelor of Science, or Master of Science degrees. 

Dr. Thomas F. Wylie, Senior Vice President and Provost at NEIT conferred degrees upon the following students (Honors: *, Potential June Grad: +):        

AS Degrees:  Jennifer L. Dowd*, Andrea L. Fandetti, Andre L. Lapierre, Alyssa R. Richards*+

Basketball legend, author, actor, award-winning film producer and community activist Kareem Abdul-Jabbar delivered the commencement address and was awarded an honorary doctor of humane letters during the ceremony.

While in college, Abdul-Jabbar led the UCLA Bruins to three consecutive NCAA championships and became the only player in NCAA history to be named Most Outstanding Player of the tournament for three consecutive years. Here, he perfected his famous skyhook, a shot that opposing players found impossible to block.   As one of the National Basketball Association's greatest players, 7-foot-2 Abdul-Jabbar was a 19-time All-Star, a six-time MVP, and the league's All-Time Leading Scorer with 38,387 points.

After 20 years, this Hall of Fame center had one of the longest careers in professional sports. He retired from the Los Angeles Lakers where no player had ever scored more points, blocked more shots, won more MVP awards or played in more All-Star games.   Abdul-Jabbar has written seven best-selling books on historical subjects and is also an award-winning filmmaker.

He won two 2013 NAACP Image Awards for his documentary, On the Shoulders of Giants, and a children's book he co-authored called What Color is My World. He is a columnist for Esquire Magazine and Huffington Post and has appeared in numerous films and TV series, most recently in a new reality competition called Splash on ABC.   Abdul-Jabbar has been dedicated to promoting social justice and equality and is focused on bringing history and social studies to children around the globe. His Skyhook Foundation, 'Gives Kids a Shot that Can't be Blocked,' focuses on the STEM disciplines (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) through literacy in under-served communities.