Honoring the Class of 2019

By Kyle Hornyak, May 16, 2019
More than 1,500 students will be honored at IC’s 124th Commencement ceremony.

More than 1,500 students will be honored at IC's 2019 Commencement ceremony on Sunday, May 19, and each has benefited from their own IC experience and contributed to life on campus for the entire IC community. Here are a few standout students:

Kendra Hubal

As a volunteer with nonprofit organization Kali’s Klubhouse, Kendra Hubal prepares horses for therapeutic riding sessions with at-risk teens, children with special needs and veterans. Kendra came to IC to study music, but was so inspired by her time as a mentor on the farm that she decided to switch her career goals in the hope of becoming a speech-language pathologist.

Dana Herbert

Prior to attending the National Flute Convention in Florida and participating in the Consummate Flutist workshop at Carnegie Mellon University this past summer, Dana Herbert interned with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra’s music program, OrchKids, last year. OrchKids provides youth in Baltimore City neighborhoods with instruments, music education and academic instruction, as well as meals at no cost to the families.

Jacob Ashcraft

Jacob Ashcraft excels on the mat as one of the top college wrestlers in the nation and on IC’s campus as a student leader. As wrestling team captain, Jacob is a national runner-up, a two-time NCAA All-American, and four-time Academic All-American wrestler who won the 2018 Most Dominant Wrestler in Division III Award from the NCAA. Additionally, Jacob has led discussions with athletes on preventing sexual assault and relationship abuse through the One Love Foundation, was a keynote speaker at the 2019 senior student athlete banquet, and is involved with the Ithaca chapter of Unite for Her, a group that helps community members who are affected with cancer by providing wellness activities.

Casey Schoch

Casey Schoch had finished an internship with a film distribution company when one of the company’s CEOs asked if she would want the short film she’d just produced to be available for streaming on Amazon. Before Casey knew it, a contract was in the works, and her film “Dead Weight” was primed to stream on the service for the next five years.

Eva Chebishev

As a sophomore, Eva Chebishev was selected by the American Society of Microbiology (ASM) to participate in a prestigious undergraduate research fellowship program. Chebishev, whose project involves investigating chlamydia trachomatis, received a stipend and travel funding that allowed her to present her findings at the 2018 ASM Microbe Meeting and participate in a number of workshops with leading experts in microbiology.

Bold Scholars

Additionally, members of Ithaca College’s first cohort of BOLD Scholars will graduate at this weekend's commencement. Pictured left to right: Nabilah Abdalla (Humanities and Sciences), Grace Elletson (Humanities and Sciences), Hannah Cayem (Music), Kat Walsh (Communications), Julissa Ramirez Santiago (Humanities and Sciences), Laura Waxman (Humanities and Sciences), Candace Cross (Health Sciences and Human Performance), Avery Santiago (Humanities and Sciences), and Chasia Bambo (Humanities and Sciences, Business).