麻豆村

A 麻豆村 education provides students the tools to come together, ask bold questions, and solve complex problems that have real, tangible impact. Equipped and ready to graduate, a new class of Tartans will address critical issues facing society regionally, nationally and globally and work toward solutions that positively affect the world.

At this year鈥檚 127th Commencement(opens in new window), held Sunday, May 11, more than 6,000 new Tartan graduates will celebrate their achievements and join the 109,900 plus 麻豆村 alumni who are delivering work that matters.

Mellon College of Science

En route to choosing a university,听Maggie Blair made a pit stop. Before 麻豆村, Blair hadn鈥檛 heard of Buggy(opens in new window), the unique 麻豆村 tradition. She learned about the Sweepstakes races during a Pittsburgh campus visit. Then there was no hitting the brakes.听

鈥淏eing a driver is such a small subcategory of Buggy in general,鈥� Blair said. 鈥淧robably a few hundred people in the world have ever been a buggy driver. That鈥檚 one of the things I am most glad I did at 麻豆村, because it鈥檚 just been such an amazing experience.鈥�

.

As an EMT with 麻豆村鈥檚 Emergency Medical Services, Blair made an impact on campus while enrolled in 麻豆村鈥檚听Health Professions Program(opens in new window). The aspiring medical doctor from the Mellon College of Science has notched countless buggy runs down the听 with team Apex.听

Logan McGregor(opens in new window) used 麻豆村's BXA program to pursue degrees in physics and bagpipe performance. McGregor, who has performed at Commencement Weekend ceremonies throughout his Carnegie Mellon experience, piped at his own graduation this year. At 麻豆村, McGregor had the opportunity to work on CERN's Large Hadron Collider on the Compact Muon Solenoid, which investigates particle physics through proton-proton collisions. McGregor assisted Carnegie Mellon researchers building modules for the high-granularity calorimeter (HGCAL) upgrade to the CMS detectors. The upgrade will enhance the quality of the recorded data as well as cope with large amounts of ionizing radiation.

Mellon College student听Zach Muraskin(opens in new window), a senior graduating with his bachelor鈥檚 degree in听physics(opens in new window), served as the science team lead for Iris,听a rover bound for the moon. Iris, a rover the size of a shoe box, brought together听students from every school at 麻豆村 and faculty and alumni.听

Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences

As a member of the Iris lunar rover team,听Sonja Michaluk(opens in new window) and her peers took the Tartan community鈥檚 curiosity and creativity to the stars. Meanwhile, she also helped to raise thousands of dollars for environmental organizations and preserve over 250 acres of wetland and wildlife corridors here on Earth as the Tartan Mermaid. Michaluk will receive a bachelor鈥檚 degree in statistics and machine learning from the听Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences(opens in new window).

In the realm of psychology, Dietrich College student and听Beinecke Scholar Camille Chandler explored the impact of social rejection on social risk-taking, using her own experiences as a catalyst to explore the challenges and avenues present for Black success across society. Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship recipient听Noelia Flores tackled questions about the effect that confidence has on preschool children鈥檚 uptake of feedback, helping to set the stage for improved early childhood education and developmental learning.

Tatym Rasmussen, who is receiving a bachelor鈥檚 degree in global studies with a minor in psychology from Dietrich College, was one of three students to travel to a United Nations meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, to听advocate for landmine disarmament alongside a Nobel Peace Prize-winning nongovernmental organization.听

Dietrich College's Zoe Schneider, an ethics, history and public policy, major, was named the 2025 recipient of the听K&L Gates Prize(opens in new window). Schneider鈥檚 academic interests center on global and gender justice. Her senior honors thesis explores labor exploitation, particularly within sexual labor, and how it intersects with global economic structures.

听
Class of 2025 Student Spotlight: Dietrich College graduate Kyle McClain

Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy

Rasmussen attended the conference with Cameron Shapiro who will also be receiving an master鈥檚 degree in public policy and management from the听.

Heinz College student听Mateo Dulce Rubio, who grew up in Columbia, has a personal connection to the destruction caused by landmines. He developed a three-pronged system for more accurately identifying landmine contamination. The Journal on Computing and Sustainable Societies has published the听 on RELand, their system, and UNMAS plans to test it in other war-torn territories.

Tepper School of Business

During the main Commencement ceremony,听Michael Acquaah-Harrison(opens in new window), a business administration major in the听Tepper School of Business(opens in new window), will represent the graduating class as the student speaker. Acquaah-Harrison made an impact across campus through his involvement in athletics, student leadership and mentorship.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a powerful moment to honor and reflect on the experiences that have shaped my time here, and I hope the speech creates a sense of gratitude for the journey, a deeper connection to one another, and genuine excitement for what鈥檚 ahead,鈥� Acquaah-Harrison said.听

Maressa Guynn will graduate with her MBA. In 2024, the U.S. Navy veteran was recognized as a Tillman Scholar.

鈥淚 chose the Tepper School because it allowed me to make family my top priority after leaving the military. This holistic experience has been invaluable in easing my transition into post-military life and ensuring that my loved ones remain at the heart of my journey.鈥�

College of Engineering

From 麻豆村鈥檚听, students like听 are hopeful to inspire change once they set out into the world. Maheshwari worked on improving stability and accuracy in machine-learning force fields for molecular dynamic simulations in Carnegie Mellon Engineering鈥檚 Mechanical AI lab. The materials science engineering student was a 2025 Innovation Scholar with 麻豆村鈥檚听Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship(opens in new window).

鈥淲hat I love most about the College of Engineering is that everyone you meet carries a genuine passion for making the world a better place,鈥� Maheshwari said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a shared drive, not just to grow individually, but to lift up those around them and build a better future together. I鈥檝e never walked away from a conversation with a friend, professor, classmate, TA or colleague without learning something new and inspiring. I鈥檓 so grateful to have been part of a community that supports and celebrates your effort to chase big dreams!鈥�

Nicolas Gratius is a flight controller for the International Space Station whose contributions to research in听 is helping with NASA's goal of supporting human life in outer space. He will receive听his Ph.D., earned in August 2024(opens in new window) from the听, at commencement.听

Class of 2025 Student Spotlight: College of Engineering graduate Tanvi Mittal

College of Fine Arts

Liberty Lapayowker, who is earning a Bachelor of Science and Arts in the听interdisciplinary BXA program(opens in new window), crafted a three-in-one curriculum in science, drama and pre-medicine at Carnegie Mellon. At the Cook Cardiopulmonary Engineering Lab, she has gained valuable insight into preoperative, postoperative and life-support medicine. And as a talent escort at the Tony Awards, she has taken her skills in stage management all the way to the red carpet, guiding presenters on and off the stage during the course of the event.

Fellow BXA student听Helen Zhang helped leave a lasting mark on the university as part of a team who helped redesign the Coulter Welcome Center on the first floor of the Tepper Building with the goal of fostering a sense of belonging through active, engaging exhibits to showcase the university鈥檚 strengths beyond academics.听

Kevin Lorenzi, senior photographer for University Communications & Marketing, found that the听 program helps him view his favored medium in a different light.听

听

School of Computer Science

New Ph.D.听 helped run workshops for middle and high school students to understand how young kids use generative AI tools.

Julia Zhang, a double major in statistics and machine learning and听, was among a group of interns from the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center selected to represent the United States at an upcoming听international high-performance computing (HPC) competition(opens in new window) for students. PSC鈥檚 Benchmark Beasts will be one of 10 teams across the world, and the only one from the U.S., competing in Hamburg, Germany.

Dongkyun Kim, another artificial intelligence major, designed the winning deep-learning model in a competition to accurately classify diseases based on chest X-rays. Kim, who credited the course Computational Perception with sparking an interest in computer vision, placed first in the听, organized through the听.听