First-Gen Graduation Pinning Ceremony 2026
First-Generation Graduation Pinning Ceremony 2026
Graduation is always a reason to celebrate, but it’s an especially proud occasion for first-generation students. Before Commencement each May, we hold a pinning ceremony to celebrate BU’s first-gen graduates. Each student participating in the ceremony invites a guest—a family member or other supporter—who will have the honor of “pinning” the graduate with a commemorative Terrier F1RSTS lapel pin.
Sixth Annual First-Generation Graduation Pinning Ceremony
Friday, May 15, 2025, 8:00-9:30pm EDT
Tsai Performance Center, 685 Commonwealth Avenue
Boston University’s sixth annual First-Gen Graduation Pinning Ceremony will be live-streamed at the below link on Friday, May 15, 2026 at 8:00pm pm EDT.
| Undergraduate | Graduate & Professional | Doctoral |
| Deqa Abdi | Aryana Abreu | Ema Mujic |
| Arianna Acosta | George Acosta Lemus | Sevval Simsek |
| Ava Ahkiong | Sandra Adams | Aizaz Younas |
| Leila Albellman | Temirlan Aktanberdy | |
| Xochitl Alonso | Mirian Alfaro Ortez | |
| Merkeb Amanuel | Nazerke Amankossova | |
| Eliza Asante | Altyn Baigaliyeva | |
| Cristell Bacilio | Kayla Barboza | |
| Nailea Baez | Aliza Batool | |
| Hannah Baptiste | Dimitri Bawole | |
| Jiselle Barrera | Leslie Bayas | |
| Abeeha Bhatti | Valeria Berrondo | |
| Janise Bonilla | Sage Blue | |
| Sheila Bravo | Gavin Boss | |
| Julie Bui | Brianna Bourne | |
| Christina Carlos | Giana Brandolini | |
| Fabiola Carrio | Mairelys Cabrera | |
| Madison-Dakota Casanas | Robson Carmo | |
| Valeria Castillo | Marissa Carty | |
| Amber Castriotta | Christian Catacutan | |
| Bianca Charlemagne-Osman | Pin-Hsuan Chen | |
| Sofia Chavez | Farihah Chowdhury | |
| Britney Chavez | Megan Cicerello | |
| Aury Chavez Mellado | Alyssa Ciniglio | |
| Di Chen | Monica Contreras-Vallejos | |
| Jerry Chen | Ariel Crawford | |
| Xiating Chen | Siobhan Curran | |
| Karina Clemente | Kristin DeMonico | |
| Charisma Costa-Melchor | Naana Ennin | |
| Melanie Criollo-Landi | Melissa Flexas | |
| Riann Cyrus | Alondra Flores | |
| Angela De Leon Barrios | Anyfern Gonzalez Brache | |
| Osmarlin De Los Santos Melo | Emily Greiner | |
| Julia De Paula | Amanda Hung | |
| Jennifer Delgado | Ashley Hurley | |
| Blythe DeWitt | Rudy Joseph | |
| Kayla Domingos Costa | Ujun Junaedi | |
| Elizabeth Donahue | Patrick Kanna | |
| Leailani Collado | Maria Kelen Toby | |
| Bryan Escobedo | Sujayanand Kingsly | |
| Katherine Farfan | Alishia Kinsey | |
| Yasmin Flores | Aiymgul Kosmukhanbetova | |
| Alexis Flores Pineda | Addison Landon | |
| Ammy Garcia | Christian Lanier | |
| Andrea Germano | Edrina Laude | |
| Miguel Gonzales | Gwenyth Lee | |
| Maria Gonzalez | Ryan Loveless-Patterson | |
| Dylan Gozdziewski | Eirene Luturmas | |
| Kaiyn Grierson | Sai Sankeerth Madakasira | |
| Zhaoxi Guan | Reno Mayor | |
| Metasebia Haily | Christa McCutcheon | |
| Madisyn Hancock | Justine Milne | |
| Ranely Henriquez | Glorya Anastacya Mustamu | |
| Melanie Hernandez | Maria Gorret Nampiima | |
| Jades Hernandez | Ala’ Nasr Allah | |
| Brianna Hernandez | Kim Nguyen | |
| Alondra Hernandez-Cruz | Helen Nguyen | |
| Sabrina Heron | Annie Ochoa Melik | |
| Selene Ho | Arta Panjaitan | |
| Lillian Hoffer | Sammy Enggar Patalatu | |
| Monica Ifezue | Jamila Peguero | |
| Evan Jaquez | Aliyah Phipps | |
| Xiang Jin | Sanne Gabriella Pingak | |
| Nelissa Julot | Elsawinda Pulamau | |
| Rima Khaja | Marlina Rajagukguk | |
| Angela Kim | Desiree Reeves | |
| Taylor Kim | Genevieve Reynolds | |
| Taylor Klinger | Alia Rodriguez | |
| Coumba Konate | Ramon Ruiz | |
| Margaret LaBarge | Kristen Ryan | |
| Mary Ladas | Jean Paweethida Saw | |
| Paola Lagos Martinez | Ruth Seyoum | |
| Judy Lam | Febriani Yosina Sibi | |
| Khang Le | Shreni Singh | |
| Callie Liu | Christina Singh | |
| Geraldine Loza Batres | Kim Ta | |
| Daniel Lung | Yosefiani D Tamatur | |
| Christiana Magee | MJ Taylor | |
| Tran Mai | Diana Tercero | |
| Anique Mehdi | Karla Torres-Welch | |
| Cindy Mensah | Lydia Velasquez | |
| Lizna Merani | Merritt Annie Welch | |
| Allison Molina | Alice Wong | |
| Jaysee Molina | Yunasila Yobee | |
| Malia Montalvo | Yeti Yuniarsih | |
| Bella Moreno | Joshua Deluca | |
| Heather Murray | Sarah Potwin | |
| Haley Newman | Dhanya Sobha | |
| Linda Nguyen | Wyze Roundtree | |
| Jessica Nguyen | Joshua Deluca | |
| Rena Nurhussien | ||
| Chelsea Ohene-Addo | ||
| Carol Orellana | ||
| Marco Orozco | ||
| Sherley Ortiz | ||
| Alivia Pavel | ||
| Kelsey Payne | ||
| Cindy Perez | ||
| Mia Peterman | ||
| Melissa Pico | ||
| Kelly Pinilla | ||
| Cindy Pino | ||
| Zheyu Qin | ||
| Nayeli Quiles | ||
| Maria Rivadeneria | ||
| Alondra Rivera Vergara | ||
| J Rodriguez-Euduado | ||
| Abigail Rosario | ||
| Melisa Sakalas | ||
| Yossiddys Sanchez | ||
| Alejandra Sardon | ||
| Vincent Semidey Jr | ||
| Ahmed Shakil | ||
| Jefferey Sheu | ||
| Khaliyah Smith | ||
| Jerry Teixeira | ||
| Kahleah Thompson | ||
| Elizabeth Topete | ||
| Christina Torres | ||
| Daniela Torres | ||
| Tiffany Trinh | ||
| Sarah Utrera | ||
| Charlot Valerio | ||
| Julyssa Villa | ||
| Jennifer Viñan Sarango | ||
| Emily Vu | ||
| Kaiah Walsh | ||
| Arianna Wooleston-Rowe | ||
| Kathleen Wyverson | ||
| Hawi Yohannes | ||
| Aya Yousif | ||
| James Zeng | ||
| Han Xuan Zheng | ||
| Yichen Zhou | ||
| Talha Zia | ||
| Herani Hiruy | ||
| Shakil Ahmed | ||
| Maya Campos | ||
| Chakaiya Harrison Waters |
Accommodations During Commencement Weekend
The Newbury Center strives to ensure that our First-Generation Graduation Pinning Ceremony is an accessible and inclusive event. Graduates and guests requesting accessibility accommodations (e.g. captioning, ASL services, mobility assistance) should fill out the Commencement Accommodations Request Form at their earliest convenience.
A few important notes on completing the form:
- Please submit one request per graduate.
- You will need to have your BUID, phone, & email handy to complete the form.
- You will need to know which ceremonies you are attending that weekend and the total number of guests in your party.
- Requests can be made April 1 through May 9.
For more information on Disability and Access Services during Commencement Weekend, click here. Please submit your Accommodations Request Form at your earliest convenience—the final deadline to submit is Friday, May 8, 2026. While every effort will be made to provide accommodations requested after May 8, they cannot be guaranteed.
Parking
For graduates and guests driving to campus, all parking garages will be open and free of charge throughout the weekend.
For the First-Generation Graduation Pinning Ceremony, we recommend parking at either the Warren Towers Garage (700 Commonwealth Ave) or the Rafik B. Hariri Building Garage (595 Commonwealth Ave), as both are a short, 3-5 minute walk from the Tsai Performance Center.
Accessible parking spaces can be found in the CAS Lot (240 Bay State Road) immediately behind the Tsai Performance Center.
Regalia Assistance
If purchasing or renting your graduation regalia (cap and gown) would create a significant financial challenge for you, please contact Malachai Damm, our Newbury Center Associate Director, for assistance: mdamm@bu.edu.