Mount Saint Mary College celebrates 63rd commencement, nearly 400 graduates awarded degrees

Nearly 400 Mount Saint Mary College graduates filled Newburgh over Friday and Saturday as the college awarded more than 100 master’s degrees and about 280 bachelor’s degrees, sending a new class of professionals into the Hudson Valley and beyond. The 63rd annual commencement ceremonies drew families, faculty and campus leaders to a milestone that matters well past the campus gates, especially in fields like nursing, education, business and public service.

The graduates came from 10 states, including Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Montana, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas and Virginia, underscoring the Mount’s reach while keeping the celebration rooted in Orange County. The college’s commencement calendar also included a nursing pinning ceremony, a class picture and toast, and separate master’s and bachelor’s degree ceremonies across the weekend.

Dr. Robert Gervasi told graduates that a degree matters, but character and compassion give that degree its meaning. The message fit a class that included students preparing for high-need work in healthcare and other service sectors at a time when local institutions continue to depend on skilled workers who can stay close to home and serve the region.

Friday’s graduate speaker, Maxine E. Lindsay-Shillingford, brought a particularly personal arc to the stage. A two-time Mount Saint Mary College alumna with degrees from 1998 and 2023, she is a chief nurse manager with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, a highly decorated U.S. Army Combat Veteran and an experienced nurse leader with nearly 30 years in civilian and military healthcare. Her career path reflected the kind of long-term persistence the college wanted to celebrate, not just the diploma itself.

Saturday’s undergraduate keynote came from Donna M. Carroll, president of the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities, who has spent her career in Catholic higher education. The college said she told graduates, “My heart belongs to Dominican higher education.”

Mount Saint Mary College, founded by the Sisters of Saint Dominic in 1959, has been an academic presence in Newburgh since 1883. Its first graduating class as a four-year liberal arts college was in 1964, with just 32 graduates, a striking contrast to this year’s much larger class. The growth reflects the college’s continuing role in Orange County, where each commencement adds new nurses, teachers, managers and service leaders to the community’s broader future.