Greenwich Students Graduate from SUNY Purchase

Nearly 1,100 students were welcomed as alumni on May 19 at the Westchester County Center in White Plains at Purchase College’s Commencement Ceremony including two from Greenwich:

Bertie Connally  graduated Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Arts in History.

Zachary Dobryn graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatre Design/Technology.

The graduates were joined by thousands of family members, friends, college faculty, and staff members who came together to celebrate their achievements.

This year’s SUNY honorary degree recipients include men and women who have made significant contributions to cultural and civic life in New York, including Former Mayor David N. Dinkins, Pulitzer Prize-winning art critic for The New York Times Holland Cotter, and cultural leader Barbaralee Diamonstein-Spielvogel.

Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Regina Spektor (’01) received the President’s Award for Distinguished Alumni. Cody La Vada (’17), a multi-disciplinary artist, writer, and educator on transgender and LGBTQ issues, offered remarks on behalf of the senior class.

Purchase College, part of the State University of New York (SUNY) network of 64 universities and colleges, was founded in 1967 by Governor Nelson Rockefeller. His aspiration for Purchase was to create a dynamic campus that combined conservatory training in the visual and performing arts with programs in the liberal arts and sciences, in order to inspire an appreciation for both intellectual and artistic talents in all students. Today, Purchase College-SUNY is a community of students, faculty, and friends where open-minded engagement with the creative process leads to a lifetime of intellectual growth and professional opportunity. For more information about the College, visit www.purchase.edu.