The 2023 College of Arts and Sciences Commencement Ceremony will be held on Thursday, June 15, at 5 p.m. ET, at the Mann Center for the Performing Arts.

The ceremony will feature two student speakers: María Paula Mijares Torres will serve as our undergraduate commencement speaker, and Monique D. Clark will serve as our graduate commencement speaker.

María Paula Mijares Torres

Mijares Torres will graduate with a BA in communication, concentration in journalism and minors in political science and French. During her time at Drexel, Mijares Torres has worked as U.S. economy intern reporter at Bloomberg News, breaking news and features intern at the Chicago Tribune, bilingual features reporter at the Philadelphia Inquirer and news editor and editorial board member of The Triangle, Drexel’s independent student newspaper. Mijares Torres is the recipient of the Drexel Global Scholars Scholarship, a Next Gen Fellow for the Lenfest Institute for Journalism and an Aspire Scholar.

Learn more about María Paula Mijares Torres in this Q&A.

Monique D. Clark

Clark graduates with her MFA in creative writing. She received her MA in English from Arcadia University and has established a successful career as a paralegal in both the private and public sectors. Clark has demonstrated enthusiasm for civic engagement by serving on Smithfield, NC Parks and Recreation Advisory Board and New Growth Management Plan Committee, Philadelphia Parks and Recreation Centers’ Advisory Council, South Lehigh Action Council, as a Philadelphia City Block Captain and on Drexel University’s English Student Advisory Council and the Black Writers’ Circle.

Learn more about Monique D. Clark in this Q&A.