2 students to speak at commencement

YOUNGSTOWN -- Stephanie M. Mateja of Neshannock and Carrie L. Brumit of Liberty have been selected as the student speakers at Youngstown State University's commencement Saturday.
Undergraduate commencement will be at 10 a.m. in Beeghly Center, and the ceremony for graduate students will be at 2:30 p.m. in Stambaugh Auditorium. In all, nearly 1,100 students will receive diplomas.
Dr. Jose "JV" Vergara Martinez, an accomplished physicist who helped found the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science, will give the keynote address at both ceremonies and receive an honorary doctor of science degree.
About the speakers
Mateja will speak at the morning commencement ceremony.
She is graduating summa cum laude with a bachelor's degree in early childhood education. A graduate of Neshannock High School in New Castle, Pa., she is the daughter of Thomas and Elaine Mateja. Her older sister, Jennifer, also graduated from the University Scholars program at YSU.
A member of the University Honors program her first year at YSU, Stephanie Mateja was selected for the University Scholars program beginning in her sophomore year. As a University Scholar, she maintained a 4.0 grade average while fulfilling 60 hours of community service each year and working in the YSU grounds department. She has been a member of the Early Childhood Education Association as well as Alpha Lambda Delta, a national honorary society for first-year students.
Mateja is a member of the following honorary societies: Kappa Delta Pi, Sigma Alpha Lambda, Golden Key, Phi Kappa Phi and Omicron Delta Kappa. Recently, she received the Frieda Chapman Award in Early Childhood Education, which is presented to a senior who shows evidence of becoming an outstanding teacher. Upon graduation, Mateja would like to remain in the area and pursue a teaching career.
Brumit will speak at the afternoon commencement ceremony. She is receiving a master's degree as an education reading specialist.
Brumit graduated from YSU in 2000 summa cum laude with a bachelor's degree in education in secondary education/comprehensive communications.
She teaches reading at the middle school of Grand Valley Local Schools in Orwell, Ohio. She also is a cheerleading coach and advisor to the student council and several other student organizations there. This year, she was named to the Cambridge Who's Who Among Executive and Professional Women.