Speakers
Commencement Speaker
The Honorable Miguel Cardona ’01 MA, ’04 6th Year, ’11 Ed.D., ’12 ELP
United States Secretary of Education
Dr. Miguel A. Cardona was sworn in as the 12th Secretary of Education on March 2nd, 2021.
Secretary Cardona previously served as the Commissioner of Education in Connecticut, a position he held after being appointed by Governor Ned Lamont in August 2019. In this position, he faced the unprecedented challenge of responding to the COVID-19 pandemic and led the safe school reopening efforts in Connecticut. To do so, Secretary Cardona and his Department provided school districts with the balance of guidance, local autonomy, and oversight needed to ensure equitable and meaningful
educational opportunities for students while also prioritizing public health mitigation measures.
Secretary Cardona and the State of Connecticut focused on equity by arranging for student access to technology to support remote learning, helping the state become first in the nation to provide learning devices to fulfill the identified need for all students. Recognizing the increased importance of providing resources for the social-emotional health for students and staff, Secretary Cardona and his team collaborated with the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence and other stakeholders to provide free social and emotional learning courses.
Secretary Cardona’s approach to leadership in Connecticut focused on partnerships: within his Education Department; between State agencies; and with local boards, educator unions, school administrator associations, child advocates, and most importantly, students and families. He attributes his success in Connecticut in part to the strong backing of those partners, as well as support from the members of the Connecticut State Board of Education and his staff at the Connecticut State Department of Education.
Under Secretary Cardona’s oversight — despite the pandemic — Connecticut launched a statewide FAFSA Data Dashboard; procured a comprehensive statewide Special Education Data System (CT-SEDS); announced the State’s highest ever extended graduation rates for students with disabilities and English Learners; reached a new stipulated agreement in the landmark school integration case Sheff v. O’Neill, established the first national requirement for high schools provide courses on black and Latino studies; and initiated systemic improvement protocols that can reach every corner of the state. His focus on equity and excellence for all learners has driven his work at all levels.
Secretary Cardona has two decades of experience as a public school educator from the City of Meriden. He began his career as an elementary teacher. He then served as a school principal in Meriden in 2003 where he led a school with outstanding programming for three to five-year olds, students that were bilingual, and students with sensory exceptionalities. He proudly served in this role for ten years. In 2012, Miguel won the 2012 National Distinguished Principal Award for the State of CT and the Outstanding Administrator Award from UConn's Neag School of Education. Secretary Cardona then transitioned to lead the work of Performance and Evaluation in the district. He then assumed the role of Assistant Superintendent for Teaching and Learning, overseeing teaching, learning, and leadership alignment.
A lifelong Meriden, Connecticut, resident, Dr. Cardona attended Meriden Public Schools and graduated from Wilcox Technical High School. He earned his bachelor's degree at Central Connecticut State University and completed a Master’s in Bilingual/Bicultural Education, the Administrator Preparation Program, a Doctorate in Education, and the Executive Leadership Program (Superintendent) Certificate at the University of Connecticut. Secretary Cardona is very active in his community, serving on several non-profit charitable organization boards of directors. He has had several articles published in AASPA Perspective, National School Boards Association, District Administration and the Scholars Strategy Network.
His greatest source of pride, however, is his family. Secretary Cardona and his beautiful wife Marissa are the proud parents of two children.
Graduate Student Speaker
Katherine "Katie" Merrick '21 DMD, MPH
Katie Merrick is graduating with a dual degree in dental medicine and public health from the UConn School of Dental Medicine and The Graduate School. She obtained a BA degree, majoring in chemistry, at Middlebury College where she graduated as a student athlete, Summa Cum Laude. There, she was the co-captain of both the women’s cross country and track and field teams.
Merrick is a well-established leader, being selected as a student representative to the Curriculum Management Committee and as a Peer Biomedical Sciences Tutor. She was a key member of the leadership Board of the General Dentistry Interest Group. She dedicates her time to community service as an Urban Service Track Scholar, where she is trained in leadership skills and interprofessional teamwork to provide primary care to clinically underserved populations. She has led a number of specific events such as the biomedical engineering discovery events for high school students, health care fairs for community members and caregiver burnout training for health professionals. Merrick also mentored young men in the Hartford Juvenile Detention Center on health topics and life skills.
Merrick is a proud Vermonter and plans to return to Vermont to work in community health and practice comprehensive general dentistry after pursuing a general practice residency at the University of Vermont Medical Center.
Undergraduate Student Speaker
Shaharia Ferdus '21 (CAHNR, CLAS)
Shaharia is a resident of Meriden, Connecticut, and will be receiving dual baccalaureate degrees in Molecular and Cell Biology and Nutritional Sciences. A first-generation college student from Bangladesh, Shaharia is grateful for all the opportunities she was able to pursue during her time at UConn. These include, but are not limited to, the privileges of conducting gut microbiome research at the Blesso laboratory; serving as a leader on-campus through clubs such as the Bangladeshi Student Association and Huskies for Haiti; engaging within the Rowe Scholar and STEM Scholar communities; and representing the College of Agriculture, Health, and Natural Resources as an Ambassador this past year. Her future plans involve saving the world, one patient at a time.