About the graduates

• The Summer 2018 graduating class of 2,047 students hails from 52 different countries;

• Among American graduates, 45 states and the District of Columbia are represented;

• Nearly two-thirds of the class (60.3 percent) originates from Ohio, and 68 of Ohio’s 88 counties are represented;

• This year’s summer class is 5.4 percent larger than the Summer 2017 graduating class (1,943);

• More than half of the Summer 2018 class received graduate degrees, including 989 master’s degrees and 162 doctoral degrees;

• More than half of all degrees conferred are in STEMM fields (57.1 percent);

• Nearly a third of all graduates participated in distance-learning programs (655);

• Nearly 14 percent of graduates — 284 — are first-generation college students;

• The average age of all graduates is 28.9, with students as young as 18 and as old as 75.

Being Boldly Bearcat

Every UC student has a story about their journey from newcomer to graduate, and no two are alike. They come from all walks of life, and each must overcome challenges as they pursue their degrees — some of them are normal, while others are unique and incredibly daunting.

Here are a few of the stories from this year’s summer 2018 commencement class:

• Amie Berger once thought she would be dead by 28. But instead of letting her struggles be the end of her, she made them the inspiration for her decision to better her life with a college education. Now 42, Berger graduates with a bachelor’s degree in substance abuse counseling. “I have give a shout out to Dr. Mathew Sauer for his continued support and encouragement,” she says. “This late life stage transformation has been rewarding in many ways.” Berger plans to pursue a master’s degree.

• Portia Watkins is a first-generation UC graduate, but she certainly won’t be the last in her family. While working toward her doctoral degree in education, she and her husband were foster parents to more than a dozen children and had four adoptions finalized, all while she worked full-time. Watkins’ daughter will earn a UC degree this spring, and her other children and foster children have discovered their own aspirations to pursue college educations thanks to her journey. “Attending the University of Cincinnati is becoming a family tradition,” she says.

• In the late 70s, Susan Stoepel wasn’t sure she had what it takes to manage college-level coursework. She had taken a few classes, but she admits she didn’t apply herself. It wasn’t until 2012 that Stoepel returned to UC, but she came with a renewed determination. After working full-time and taking two classes per semester, Stoepel, 58, is proud to finally be able to call herself a college graduate. “I worked really hard since returning to the university, and I’m proud of the work that I’ve accomplished,” she says. “If I could tell incoming students one thing, it would be to work hard but remember to have fun."

• After working as a registered nurse for more than two decades, Darin Bershefsky wasn’t sure he would be able to succeed in school at this stage of his life. Instead, the Eaton, Connecticut resident maintained a 4.0 GPA while pursuing his bachelor’s degree in nursing through UC’s distance learning program. The first time Bershefsky set foot on Greater Cincinnati soil was to attend commencement, but that’s just the start of the journey ahead. “I could have not achieved these accomplishments without the love and support of my wonderful wife and family,” Bershefsky says. “She and my girls have sacrificed a lot while ‘Daddy is studying’. As a reward, we will be taking a much needed family vacation to Hawaii and California in September.”

• Sumanth Maddirala wasn’t sure if he was college material. A self-described below-average student, his lack of confidence made him reluctant to apply. But once he started class, he found that applying one’s self comes with rewards. “After making a few adjustments during my first semester of college, I earned a 3.6 GPA,” he says. “From that point onwards, I have earned nothing short of a 4.0 GPA.” Maddirala immersed himself in UC culture, serving in several leadership positions with organizations such as Emerging Ethnic Leaders and Cleanup Cincy, and ultimately earned recognition as one of the School of Information Technology’s top pupils. “I have grown as a leader, a mentor, and a highly technical software engineer,” Maddirala says. Not bad for someone who claims they had “always wanted to drop out of school.” Maddirala will pursue his master's degree in IT at UC.

• “I’ve watched my own children walk for their graduation,” says Barbara Marcum, “When I looked into my future, I saw the ‘empty-nest’ years loom before me.” Marcum decided that it was time for a new life and a new direction. She knew she wanted to give back to her community and care for others, so she enrolled in UC’s speech pathology distance learning program. “I am well prepared to step out and give to others as a speech language pathologist,” she says. “It is an honor to be a graduate of the University of Cincinnati.”
  

• Jennifer Becker’s road to a college degree came with plenty of hurdles. Married at 21, she worked while her husband pursued a political science degree at UC. At 24, it was her turn to get started at UC. She had two children during her pursuit of her bachelor’s degree in business administration, the second of which was born just before exam week. “Less than 48 hours after being released from the hospital, I was sitting in a classroom to take my business analytics exam while my husband, 1-year-old and newborn waited in the car,” she recalls. That was but one of countless challenges for Becker, who continued her studies and raised her children through her husband’s two six-month deployments with the U.S. Air National Guard and late-night shifts with the Cincinnati Fire Department. “I often studied with a napping child laying across my lap,” she says. Becker finished her degree with a nearly flawless GPA, and will begin working with Kirsch CPA Group in the fall — but not before she gives birth to her third child, who is due in just a few weeks.

• UC Blue Ash professors Jacquelyn Gibbs, Tracy Herrmann, Heather Moore and Debbie Page had the privilege of not only seeing their students earn their degrees at Commencement, but also of joining them as fellow graduates. The four professors each formally received their doctorate degrees. and some of them also had students who received their associate or bachelor’s degree from the college as part of the same ceremony.