Jennifer Abbatiello student commencement speaker

SALISBURY, MD-- Jennifer Abbatiello, a member of the Salisbury University Class of 2002 with double majors in education and Spanish, recalls attending her brother Donald's SU graduation ceremony four years ago and listening intently to the speech by the student commencement speaker. She turned to her parents and told them, "That's what I want to do one day."

Her day arrives on Saturday, May 18, when she addresses her fellow graduates as this year's Salisbury University student commencement speaker at 10 a.m. at the Wicomico Youth & Civic Center. The title of her speech is "The Acceptance Letter and a Starfish."

"This is my 'advice' to our graduating class of 2002," Abbatiello said she would share with her 1,054 fellow graduates. "Do not underestimate the power of one, simple action. Every day, we wake up with tremendous potential-we have the power to make it a good day or to allow it to be a crumby day. …We have the power to make a difference … (to) do something that matters for at least one."

Abbatiello has been making a difference at SU since she enrolled in fall 1998. She was productions manager and then editor-in-chief at The Flyer, the student-run weekly newspaper, and a member of the Education Club, Spanish Club and Peer Leadership Program.

She is a member of several academic honorary societies including Phi Eta Sigma, Kappa Delta Pi, Phi Kappa Phi and Sigma Delta Pi, currently serving as president. She was a presenter at the Fulton School of Liberal Arts Undergraduate Research Conference in 2000 and last summer participated in a Study Abroad Program in Malaga, Spain.

"Salisbury University has given me the opportunity to be a part of so many organizations and activities," said Abbatiello, daughter of Donna and Michael Abbatiello of Long Island, NY, and a graduate of Shoreham (NY) Wading River High School. "Taking advantage of those opportunities has made me a more well-rounded graduate."

Abbatiello hopes to be teaching third or fourth grade on the Eastern Shore in the fall.

This May's SU graduating class of 1,054 includes 347 receiving the Bachelor of Arts, 580 the Bachelor of Science, one the Bachelor of Fine Arts, 47 the Bachelor of Arts in Social Work, 19 the Master of Arts, 34 the Master of Education, 16 the Master of Business Administration and 10 the Master of Science.

Admission to the Salisbury University commencement is by ticket only. A reception following the awarding of diplomas is on campus at University Hill, behind the Guerrieri University Center, and does not require a ticket.

For more information about the graduation ceremony, please call the SU Public Relations Office at 410-543-6030.