Lorraine Brancale ’17 (M.S.) Speaks on Behalf of Classmates at Spring Commencement
The Spring Commencement valedictorian, Brancale earned a 4.0 grade point average in the mental health counseling program, while completing three different fellowships.
Lorraine Brancale ’17 (M.S.) is Manhattan College’s Spring Commencement valedictorian and will give the valedictory address alongside her fellow graduates on Thursday, May 18 at the College’s Spring Commencement.
In her two years in the mental health counseling program in the School of Education and Health, Brancale has earned a 4.0 grade point average and has served in fellowships at Montefiore Hospital and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx. During those fellowships, Brancale has focused on targeting and treating adolescents with learning disabilities and students with special healthcare needs.
“It is truly an honor to be selected out of such an accomplished and experienced pool of students to represent the class of 2017,” Brancale said. “I would like to thank my family, the staff and faculty of the mental health counseling program, my classmates, and my coaches and teammates on the track team who have supported, encouraged, and guided me these past two years. My experience here at Manhattan College exceeded my highest expectations.”
Brancale earned her bachelor’s degree in sociology from Wagner College in 2015 before coming to Manhattan College to earn her master’s degree. In her final year of eligibility, she competed on the Jaspers’ cross country and track and field teams during the 2015-16 academic year. During the 2016 spring semester, she also was a counseling intern at the City College Academy of the Arts in upper Manhattan, working with teenage students in individual counseling sessions.
The Spring Commencement ceremony awards master’s degrees to students graduating from the Schools of Business and Engineering, master’s degrees and professional diplomas to students from the School of Education and Health, and bachelor’s and master’s degrees to students in the School of Continuing and Professional Studies. Bettye H. Perkins, Ed.D., will deliver the keynote address at Spring Commencement and receive an honorary doctorate degree in pedagogy.
In addition to the Spring Commencement, Manhattan College will host its 175th Undergraduate Commencement on Friday, May 19, and award bachelor’s degrees to students from its five schools in Liberal Arts, Business, Education and Health, Engineering and Science. Thomas J. Moran ’74 will deliver the keynote address at the College’s Undergraduate Commencement and will also receive an honorary doctorate degree in humane letters at the ceremony.
For more information on Commencement 2017, visit manhattan.edu/commencement.