Bucknell Class of 2026 heads to jobs, graduate school, local careers

Where the Class of 2026 is landing

Bucknell University’s newest graduates are not all heading in the same direction, and that is the story Union County should watch. Some are stepping into full-time jobs, some are moving straight into graduate training, and at least a few are finding work close enough to keep their skills tied to the region around Lewisburg.

The university is using the Class of 2026 to make a larger point about what a Bucknell degree is meant to do: turn classroom work, faculty mentorship and alumni connections into next steps after graduation. That matters in Union County, where every senior class brings a temporary surge of people, money and ambition into Lewisburg, then sends many of them out into Pennsylvania’s job market and beyond.

A graduate headed into local industry

Shane Coudriet’s next stop is Lee Industries in Philipsburg, Pennsylvania, where he will work as an applications engineer. That placement is especially notable for Union County readers because it points to a career path anchored in the state’s manufacturing and equipment sector rather than a distant corporate hub.

Lee Industries is located at 50 W. Pine St. in Philipsburg, and the company lists an Applications Engineer contact on its sales and equipment team page, a sign that the role sits close to the operational side of the business. Bucknell describes Coudriet’s job as a technical bridge between customers and engineering teams, translating process needs into safe and efficient equipment solutions. That kind of work is exactly the sort of middle-ground role that can keep a young engineer in Pennsylvania while still giving them a career with room to grow.

For Union County, the takeaway is simple: not every Bucknell graduate leaves the region entirely. Some follow a path into nearby industrial employers, where their first job can be as relevant to local economic health as any larger headline about university rankings or campus prestige.

A path into vaccine manufacturing

Maya Fetzer is taking a different route, but one that is equally important to the region’s workforce picture. She will join Merck in West Point, Pennsylvania, in a 2026 Future Talent Program - Vaccine Manufacturing Co-op. The role is tied to vaccine manufacturing and includes co-op assignments that can last up to six months, with work focused on operational and technical issues inside ongoing production.

Bucknell says Fetzer will rotate through three areas within the vaccine space, which says as much about the university’s priorities as it does about her résumé. The point is not simply to place a student in a job title. It is to prepare someone to move between functions, understand complex systems and adapt quickly in a field where precision matters.

That has public health relevance well beyond campus. Vaccine manufacturing is part of the infrastructure that shapes access, supply stability and technical expertise in the health system. When a Bucknell graduate enters that pipeline, the payoff extends beyond one paycheck or one employer. It adds trained talent to a sector that directly affects community well-being.

What Bucknell says its career pipeline delivers

Bucknell’s Center for Career Advancement is central to the school’s pitch. The center says it helps students with internships, full-time jobs and graduate school applications, and Bucknell says those services continue for life after graduation through alumni career support.

The university is also pointing to hard outcomes. Bucknell reported that the Class of 2024 secured opportunities within nine months of graduation, and its Graduate Outcomes Report says 93% of that class were employed, in graduate school, preparing for graduate school or volunteering within nine months. The same report lists a mean starting salary of $73,075.

That combination of numbers gives the Class of 2026 story a sharper edge. The university is not just describing happy endings for a few standout seniors. It is arguing that the system around them works at scale, from the first internship search to the first job offer and, for some students, to graduate school admissions. In a labor market where young graduates are often forced to piece together short-term work or move far from home, Bucknell is trying to show a cleaner transition into real careers.

The skills behind the offers

Both Coudriet and Fetzer point to the same underlying message: Bucknell wants students to leave with more than technical knowledge. Their reflections emphasize communication, leadership and the ability to defend decisions clearly, along with the subject-matter training that gets them into the room in the first place.

That mix matters in a place like Union County, where the university’s presence is felt in a very practical way. Bucknell is not just an academic institution in Lewisburg. It is one of the borough’s biggest annual economic anchors, feeding local housing, retail, dining and service businesses before Commencement sends a new class into the next phase of its lives. The university’s emphasis on alumni networking and mentorship also shows how the campus tries to turn one graduate into a long-term connection, not a one-time diploma recipient.

For employers, that matters too. A graduate who can explain a design choice, manage a team conversation or troubleshoot a production problem has more value than a résumé filled only with technical credentials. Bucknell is clearly trying to build that full package.

Commencement brings the class together one last time

The Class of 2026 will be honored at Bucknell’s 176th Commencement on Sunday, May 17, 2026, at 10 a.m. on Malesardi Quadrangle. The university has announced Ken Freeman ’72 as the speaker, a choice that ties the ceremony back to Bucknell’s alumni network and the idea that graduation is not an ending so much as a handoff.

That handoff is what makes this class important for Union County. Some graduates will stay close to Lewisburg, some will move into regional industry, and others will take the graduate-school route. Together, they show how Bucknell functions as both a local workforce engine and a launchpad, sending trained people out into the economy while still shaping the region that raised them.