As part of our traditional commencement coverage, we feature faculty or staff who have earned degrees from William Paterson and also include family of faculty or staff who graduate.

Roland Watts, Jacquelyn Bonaparte, and Audrey Bonaparte-Watts '95

Jacquelyn Bonaparte, the stepdaughter of Roland Watts, and the daughter of Audrey Bonaparte-Watts ‘95, former assistant director of alumni relations, graduated with a degree in communication and would like to use that degree to forge a career in public relations. “Audrey and I are proud and pleased with Jackie’s experience at William Paterson,” Watts says. Bonaparte was a resident assistant, president of the Student Alumni Council, and worked part time in the Office of Capital Planning, Design, and Construction. She traveled to Spain twice on study tours with Maria Tajes, assistant professor of languages and cultures. “I tried to experience as much of college life as possible,” she says. Future plans include graduate school.

Matthew Magnotta and Yvonne Roux

Matthew Magnotta, the son of Yvonne Roux, head of curriculum materials, Cheng Library, received a bachelor of fine arts degree. Interested in illustration, he is currently sending out resumes to pursue that interest. While on campus, he worked in media services part-time as a student technology consultant and participated in several intramural sports. “I’m very proud of Matthew,” Roux says. “He worked hard and grew tremendously at William Paterson. While he’s always been an artist and a reader, he is now also a drummer and a music enthusiast.”

Jan Pinkston

Jan Pinkston, assistant director, Honors College, who has been with the Honors College since 2000, received a master’s degree in English. “I pursued a graduate degree, not only to further my education, but to improve and benefit my work with the students of the Honors College,” she says. The mother of a seven-year-old son, she took one class at a time in the beginning and then added a class in each of her last two semesters in the program.  She thinks of Philip Cioffari, professor of English, as a mentor. “He has such a wide range of experience,” she says. “And he gives each student a lot of attention. He is committed to the students here at William Paterson.” Active on campus, Pinkston is also the professional staff representative to the University’s Faculty Senate, and serves on the executive board of AFT Local 1796.

Lisa Vuoncino and Elaine Vuoncino

Lisa Vuoncino, the daughter of Elaine Vuoncino, secretary, graduate nursing office, received her master’s degree in English, with a concentration in creative writing. Currently, Lisa is employed as a production editor at John Wiley and Sons in Hoboken. She received an undergraduate degree from William Paterson in 2005, also with a concentration in creative writing. As part of her master’s thesis she began a novel, The Opposite of Me, which she is now continuing with the hope of publication in the future. The novel is the story of a 26-year-old girl whose lack of confidence cripples her ability to move her life forward.

Sodigi Karibi-Whyte

Sodigi Karibi-Whyte, assistant director, Career Services, received a master’s degree in public policy and international affairs, a degree he pursued to improve his knowledge of world affairs and to satisfy a strong interest in government and politics. “This degree combined all the fields I’m interested in,” he says. “Politics, government, business and economics. It’s a very broad-based degree.” While working full-time, he attended classes on a part-time basis, taking two classes a semester. He credits Aaron Tesfaye, assistant professor of political science and his thesis advisor, with “shaping the way I thought about the subject in a stimulating exchange of ideas.”  He also enjoyed classes with Sheila Collins, professor of political science, and Michael Principe, professor of political science. “This program brought a lot of different concepts together for me.”

Lisa Wright, Michele Wright, and Michele Wright DePascale

Lisa Wright and Michele Wright DePascale, the daughters of Michele Wright, program assistant, Office of Certification, both received degrees. Lisa, who works in the University’s Office of Testing as a technical assistant, has worked on campus for more than nine years. She earned a bachelor’s degree in anthropology while holding down a full-time job. Encouraged by her mother to pursue a degree, Lisa also credits her sister and other friends who have children with the inspiration to finish her degree. Online classes made it much easier to complete the work, she says. She is now registered in an online master’s degree program in student affairs and higher education at another university. Michele, who worked on campus as part of a grant held by the College of Education for four years, earned a master’s degree in counseling. She began her career in corporate public relations, but “felt I wasn’t making a difference.” She decided to go into teaching via an alternate route program and taught first grade for two years. “While I was there I decided to explore other aspects of education,” she says. She became interested in counseling, and will start a new job as a school counselor at Morris Knolls High School in September. The mother of thirteen-month-old Emily, Michele says her mother helped her in every way possible, both financially and emotionally, and by “being there every step of the way.” Their mother is “extremely proud of both of them for never giving up” through all the challenges they both faced.