Commencement Information

A message from the director 

I, our department heads Chita Das, head of the Department of Computer Science and Engineering, and Kultegin Aydin, head of the Department of Electrical Engineering, and all faculty and staff would like to congratulate each of you on the accomplishment of your graduation. All of our majors are extremely challenging, but also all lead to highly rewarding careers. I am sure most, if not all, of you have had to overcome many obstacles to reach this point. It is a credit to you and the people who supported you that you have persevered and successfully earned your degrees. Now you can reap the benefits, and start your careers inventing and enabling future engineering and scientific advancements to improve our world. Your careers will take many paths — follow your passions and you will not only find success, but also hopefully fulfillment.

I know this is a challenging time. You have had to complete your very challenging degrees during, for many, even more challenging circumstances. It is unfortunate that what should have been a time of great excitement was often tinges with worry and sorrow. I, and all of our faculty and staff, empathize with you. However, now is a time of hope and a time to celebrate your accomplishments. The sacrifices you have made will enable you to achieve many more milestones in the future and to celebrate these milestones with those around you. And, you will have many more milestones because of what you have accomplished here. I hope you will all return to Penn State many times in the future and can fully enjoy the campus, its activities and its surrounding areas. But even more, I hope you all have long, happy lives and make good use of what you have learned and earned here at Penn State.

Sincerely,
Tom La Porta
Director of the School of EECS
Evan Pugh Professor
William E. Leonhard Endowed Chair