Rider University announces Commencement speakers

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Samantha Haines ’23 and doctoral student Arcia Stokes ’12, ’15 will be the student speakers at Rider University’s 2024 Commencement ceremonies at the Cure Insurance Arena on Saturday, May 11.

Haines, a computer science major who completed her coursework in December of 2023, will remind her classmates that they have persevered through the challenges of a pandemic to reach their graduation. “The most beautiful transformations arise from the darkest moments,” she says. Haines knows intimately about such challenges. 

A transfer student from Bristol, Pennsylvania, Haines took a longer route to graduation. She originally enrolled in college after high school but had to drop out after one year when she could no longer afford the tuition. 

“I was a fresh college dropout who had no money, no car and absolutely no idea as to how I was going to afford college, or what I even wanted to study once I returned,” she says. 

After two years working at a fast food restaurant, she saved enough money to pay off her previous loan and began again at a community college. She transferred to Rider in her junior year with a full-tuition scholarship as a Trustee Scholar. A few months later, her father was diagnosed with cancer and then passed away from COVID-19 during the pandemic. 

Despite her grief, Haines made the most of her two and a half years at Rider. While working two jobs, she became a SheTek ambassador, and remained active in the Math Club and Active Minds, a campus organization focused on mental health. She was also the founding president of the Transfer Student Association and vice president of the Gail Bierenbaum Women’s Leadership Council. 

Haines’ academic and research achievements led her to being awarded the MacMillan Scientific Research Fellowship last year. And in 2022, Google awarded her a scholarship to attend the Great Minds in STEM conference in Pasadena, California. 

Today, Haines is a software engineer at Lockheed Martin,  a leading global security and aerospace company.

Haines looks back at her time at Rider as transformative. “I found resources at Rider that not only transformed me as a student, but transformed the trajectory of my life,” she says. “Most importantly, I found a home away from home, lifelong friendships and a community that showed me that success can be achieved at any moment in our lives. For that, I am eternally grateful.”

Arcia Stokes ’12,’15, will deliver the student speech at the graduate Commencement ceremony. 

Stokes, from Newark, New Jersey, earned a bachelor of arts in music and a master of vocal performance and vocal pedagogy at Rider, and will walk with her classmates as a doctor in education. She is an author of music books for children and the owner of Stokes Notes, LLC, an organization offering music and arts education through private coaching and seminars.

In her speech, Stokes will urge her fellow graduates to uplift and inspire one another, and to continue to believe in their own abilities. She will speak about her own path in education, one forged with resilience, and will acknowledge the support of her 90-year-old aunt, Yaya, who raised her as a single parent.

“As a Black woman, I carry with me the legacy of those who paved the way before me, and I am conscious of the responsibility to continue opening doors for those who will follow,” she says.

Stokes is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). In 2023, she was recognized by Alpha Alpha Lambda Community Development, Inc., and given a New Jersey Top 40 under 40 Juneteenth Excellence Award.

Stokes refers to her time at Rider as a period “marked by growth, learning and forging connections that will last a lifetime.” She credits her professors for igniting her curiosity and “fostering an environment where learning is not just about acquiring information, but also about discovering yourself.”

Rider’s graduate Commencement ceremony will begin at 9:30 a.m. at the CURE Insurance Arena in Trenton, New Jersey, followed by the undergraduate ceremony at 2:30 p.m. Joi Brown, the founder and CEO of Culture Creators, will receive an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters and William M. Rue ’69, chairman of Rue Insurance, will receive an honorary Doctor of Business.

For more information about Rider University's 2024 Commencement ceremonies, please visit rider.edu/commencement.