The journey to graduation is often characterized by challenges as students balance work and social life while fulfilling the demanding academic requirements to earn a degree. The Class of 2022 faced additional obstacles as the coronavirus has forced everyone to adapt to a new normal.
Meeting the challenge are nearly 3,800 Wayne State University graduates, who will celebrate their successful completion of studies during the spring commencement ceremonies May 6-8 at the new WSU Fieldhouse.
The Class of 2022 includes graduates from all walks of life, who have demonstrated grit and undaunting drive to make it to the finish line. Their stories resonate with the phrase Warrior Strong, which has become synonymous with Wayne State’s students. All graduates are encouraged to share their graduation journey using #MyWSUStory.
Here are the stories of some of the May 2022 graduates:
Alexus Bridgeforth
Alexus Bridgeforth hadn’t heard of “supply chain” when she got hooked on the field as a high school student taking vocational classes through Oakland Schools Technical Campus. She pursued that passion, though, and will earn a bachelor’s in global supply chain management from Wayne State University’s Mike Ilitch School of Business.
Bridgeforth has already accepted a full-time offer with global powerhouse Amazon, where she will serve as an area manager at their hub in Amarillo, Texas, managing a team of employees working to maintain quality standards, process goals, and more. She was recruited on LinkedIn through the Amazon student recruitment program.
Managing a team and keeping business on track won’t be too far of a stretch for Bridgeforth, who has years of experience working in various industries. While earning her degree, she has held positions in retail, inventory, grocery, customer service, sales, hospitality and more. In her free time, Bridgeforth also developed and launched a cosmetics line in September 2021, working with suppliers, vendors and marketing professionals.
Damon Creighton Jr.
Damon Creighton Jr. believes in finding balance — and he hopes to help others do the same. Creighton will earn a bachelor’s in social work from Wayne State University’s School of Social Work and plans to become a therapist specializing in care for teens and adolescents. Creighton has known for some time that he’s meant to serve. Diagnosed with epilepsy as a freshman in high school, he struggled with physical and mental health challenges for two years before seeing a therapist.
Having found a balance, Creighton has excelled academically and is a proven leader on campus. He was recently recognized as one of the School of Social Work’s National B.S.W. Students of the Year for his work serving fellow students. As a student, Creighton has been active on campus, serving as a School of Social Work peer mentor and vice president of the Association of Black Social Workers. He was involved in the School of Social Work’s Disability Justice Series and was an invited panelist in a discussion about student perspectives of disability. Creighton also serves as vice president of The Brotherhood, a student organization founded to help African American students build community and academic, professional and personal networks.
Creighton hopes to one day work in a private practice and advocate for mental health awareness at the K-12 level through programming and resources at schools. He’ll begin a master’s program in social work this fall so that he can earn licensing and practice immediately after graduation.
Alec Ehnis-Clark
During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, people found new ways to connect while doing the things they enjoyed. Alec Ehnis-Clark was part of a group of Wayne State University theatre students who did just that by staging virtual shows for students in the Detroit Public Schools Community District.
Ehnis-Clark will graduate this May with a bachelor of fine arts in theatre design tech (scenic). During his college career, Ehnis-Clark designed sets and props for several productions, but he noted that the virtual shows allowed him to get even more creative.
Last fall, Ehnis-Clark designed the set for the Department of Theatre and Dance’s production of Everybody.
Ehnis-Clark submitted his work on Everybody to the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival and earned the Jane Childs DTM Legacy Award for his standout design. He said he was confident designing Everybody because of the experiences he had at Wayne State.
Zarin Farook
Zarin Farook came to Wayne State University to study political science because she wanted to make a difference.
Soon, Farook will graduate with a bachelor of arts in political science with honors, along with a double minor of history and law — but it’s her extensive advocacy work that’s defined her experience at WSU.
Farook was an active member of several of service-orientated organizations at Wayne State, including Thrive and Be Active. She was also vice president of UNICEF WSU, where she helped raise funds to provide N95 masks, immunizations and water pellets to children affected by the crisis in Yemen.
Farook also served as an organizing fellow for Rise Michigan, conducing outreach to encourage people to vote. As an intern for IGNITE National, Farook helped research police oversight commissions and strategic initiatives to incorporate community perspectives on urban law enforcement.
Tareq Hanna
Tareq Hanna is one step closer to fulfilling his lifelong dream of becoming a doctor. Hanna, who will earn a bachelor’s in biological sciences with a minor in chemistry from the Irvin D. Reid Honors College at Wayne State University this May, will take just a few weeks off before beginning his formal medical education at WSU’s School of Medicine in July. A first-generation Arab American whose parents immigrated to Canada from Iraq, his undergraduate journey was heavily influenced by a desire to share kindness and build communities up through understanding. Surrounded by family heavily grounded in the hard sciences, like engineering and medicine, Hanna felt a natural pull toward a field that applied research and data to solve real-world problems.
Wayne State’s historic commitment to serving Detroit drew Hanna to the university, where he developed an even deeper appreciation for the critical roles that diversity and access play in health care. As an undergraduate student, he took advantage of opportunities to serve Detroit and the broader medical community. He volunteered with the Wayne Health Mobile Unit to provide COVID-19 testing and vaccinations, as well as other preventative screening, to residents in Detroit, Dearborn, St. Clair Shores and beyond. Hanna, who wants to specialize in surgery, has explored various areas of medicine with mentors on- and off-campus.
Sam Krahn
Sam Krahn arrived at Wayne State knowing exactly what he wanted to do with his life: He grew up reading Car and Driver, Top Gear and automotive news websites, and he wanted to write about cars. Krahn also has a passion for swimming. He says that the rigorous schedule — with one of two daily practices beginning as early as 6 a.m. — forced him to budget time and focus on his dual majors of journalism and public relations in the College of Fine, Performing and Communication Arts.
Now, he is graduating with a 3.97 GPA and a spot on the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference All-Academic Excellence Team for swimming. What’s more, public relations agency Lambert has hired Krahn to work for its automotive and mobility team in Detroit.
Sarah McCall
Sarah McCall believes that as much as she chose Wayne State University, the university also chose her. McCall, who will earn a master of business administration from the Mike Ilitch School of Business, notes that she has taken a “slightly non-traditional” path to graduation, but her journey has been one of intention and purpose.
McCall, who earned a bachelor’s in fashion design and merchandising from WSU in 2018, was inspired to further her education after a car accident forced her to reassess her goals and priorities. She completed 10 years of rehabilitation and is a self-described “surthrivor.” As a student, she took interest in organizations that emphasized service and experiential learning opportunities, including WSU’s popular Alternative Spring Break Detroit, MBA Response, the Graduate Business Student Association, Beta Gamma Sigma international business honor society, Fashion Design Merchandising Organization, Graduate Queer Alliance, Wayne Women in Business and Net Impact, among others.
Blending her creative and humanistic passions with more technical skills, McCall plans to focus her career on business sustainability and social impact. Most recently, she completed an internship with the Fred A. and Barbara M. Erb Family Foundation focused on regional business sustainability. That opportunity led to her current role as an administrator for Sustainable Business Network of Detroit, a group focused on building infrastructure and engagement to establish Southeast Michigan as a global leader in sustainable business.
Emily Polet-Monterosso
School of Information Sciences student Emily Polet-Monterosso, who will graduate this spring with a master’s in library and information science, says that becoming a kidney donor is the best thing she’s ever done. It was such a positive experience, in fact, that she wanted to shout from a mountaintop that living donors can lead full, healthy and active lives. And she set out to do just that. After donating a kidney in 2019 to a stranger in need, Polet-Monterosso, along with fellow members of the Kidney Donor Athletes organization, climbed Africa’s Mount Kilimanjaro on World Kidney Day in 2022 to raise awareness for living donation.
Following graduation, Polet-Monterosso plans to continue giving back. She wants to pursue a career as a librarian, where she hopes to work at a public library and help advise young people about how to access potentially life-changing information. Having worked at a private college before starting classes at Wayne State, Emily wants to use her skills to help the next generation of students. remedy disparities in financial and college readiness.
Read Polet-Monterosso’s full story here.
Tiffany Stewart
Born and raised in Detroit, Tiffany Stewart is committed to serving her city. Stewart, who is graduating with a master of business administration from the Mike Ilitch School of Business, has been a dedicated advocate for the city of Detroit and its community during her 25-year career in law enforcement administration with the Detroit Police Department (DPD), where she currently serves as a police commander. A proud graduate of Cass Technical High School, Stewart started with the DPD shortly after earning her high school diploma. While navigating her way through the ranks and working on a variety of investigative and support assignments, she earned a bachelor’s in public administration from Central Michigan University. When the time came to continue her education, Stewart looked back to Detroit. As a public servant balancing professional and academic responsibilities, Stewart said she had to be “disciplined” in time management, a task made somewhat easier because of the flexibility and convenience of online coursework. While she earned a graduate certificate in business from the Ilitch School with classes on campus, the entirety of her M.B.A. program has been online.
Although she’s preferred the flexibility allowed by remote coursework, Stewart said that some of her most rewarding experiences as a student involved opportunities to learn from and connect with industry leaders in Detroit, including representatives from Leer, the Ilitch family and Emagine theaters. Stewart’s M.B.A. will be the newest addition to a list of accolades. She is also a graduate of the FBI National Academy Session 274 and the Michigan Association of Chiefs of Police’s Police Executives’ and New Chiefs’ School. Additionally, she is a member of the Detroit Police Command Officers Association, the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives, and the Community Advisory Committee for Gilda’s Club Metro Detroit.