Cleary returns to its founding city for graduation ceremonies

 
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
 
May 7, 2025
 
CONTACT:
Brett Rogers
Director of Marketing
800.686.1883 x.1558
brogers@cleary.edu
 
 
Cleary returns to its founding city for graduation ceremonies
 
(HOWELL, MI) On Saturday, May 3, a total of 358 Cleary graduates walked on the stage to receive their degree, the largest number in history to attend commencement festivities!
 
“It is our honor to support you in your goals and dreams,” announced Alan Drimmer, PhD, Cleary president, to a record crowd of more than 2,000 family members and friends who gathered at the George Gervan GameAbove Center on the Eastern Michigan University campus for the 2025 commencement ceremony. “We are so happy to return today to our founding city of Ypsilanti where Cleary first opened in 1883,” he noted.
 
In addition to honoring graduates, Cleary awarded the following student honors:
 

• President’s Award: Mia Rzepka for demonstrating overall excellence in teamwork, scholarship, communication and presentation skills, and integration and application of coursework into the business world. Rzepka graduated with a BBA in Business Management and an MBA in Strategic Leadership. She was co-president of SALT (Student Athlete Leadership Team), and was a leader on and off the field for Cleary’s softball team for four years (she was named Second Team All-WHAC and All-Academic Team for WHAC). She maintained a heavy coursework load of 18 credits every semester and worked 32 hours a week at Delta Dental to “continue growing and developing my career skills while also paying for my college education,” she reports.

 

• Graduate Leadership Award: Spencer Jamieson and Yolanda Stinson for demonstrating superior leadership in teamwork, scholarship, and communication and presentation skills in graduate level coursework.

 
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In 2024, Spencer Jamieson graduated from Cleary with a bachelor’s degree in Sports Management and a minor in Project Management. During his four years as an undergraduate, he played for the baseball team and was a student worker in the athletic department. This year, he served as a graduate assistant for the athletic department while completing a master’s degree in Strategic Leadership. He already has a job lined up – he is the Director of Stadium Operations for the Royal Oak Leprechauns, one of 26 teams in the Northwoods League, considered a valuable training ground for players, coaches, umpires and front office staff. It is the largest organized summer collegiate baseball league in the world.
 
Yolanda Stinson, a deputy chief chaplain for the Detroit Police department, began working for the department as a support specialist with the homicide unit, helping countless families grieving the loss of a loved one through violence. She is a licensed minister and a mentor, trainer and planner for vigils and memorials held for the families of homicide victims. Stinson earned her bachelor’s degree and master’s degree from Cleary in Leadership.
 

• Anne McKenny University Service Award: Grace Pasterik is the first recipient of this honor, awarded for her dedication, leadership, commitment to community, volunteerism, integrity, stewardship, selflessness and passion for service. She graduated from Cleary with a dual major – Healthcare Management and Digital Marketing. She was a DECA honor cord recipient and was named to the softball All-Academic Team for WHAC and the NAIA Champion of Character Team for demonstrating the five core values of the NAIA – integrity, respect, responsibility, sportsmanship and servant leadership. Pasterik was a student worker in the Cleary Admissions Office, and during the summer, she volunteered as an assistant softball coach for children at Turnin2 Sports, a nonprofit organization dedicated to building champions on and off the field through the core values of respect, responsibility and represent.

 

• Business Innovation Award: Edward Fox for initiating or creating an improvement to a business process or product within an existing company, organization or nonprofit institution. He integrated a food industry process and solved a problem with creativity and innovation.

 
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• Entrepreneurship Award: Evert Redman for creating or planning a new product or process or business venture, or one within an existing company, organization or nonprofit institution. The Early College Program graduate from Fowlerville started his own custom rug business at the age of 17. TheTuftedTreasury exploded within a few months, and he now sells his handmade tufted rugs internationally.

 

• DECA Stole: Ambre Canado, Cristina De Miguel Arandiga, Jacob Haley, Carson MacMillan, Emma Nobels, Sarah Wessels, Morgan Whitcomb

 

• DECA Honor Cord: Grace Pasterik, Wayne Taiman

In addition to student awards, Cleary extended an honorary doctorate degree to Derek Ware for demonstrating outstanding achievements in his profession; enriching the world with his knowledge, mentorship abilities and exemplary contributions; living the attributes of The Cleary
Mind™; and inspiring graduates, students, families and the entire community to aspire to excellence. Ware serves as President and CEO of Detroit Community Health Connection, a health care center that provides easily accessible, affordable and quality medical, dental and behavioral health services to the community. He earned his BBA in Business Leadership from Cleary and one year later, he completed a dual master’s degree in Healthcare Leadership and Leadership.
 
Rodney Cole, president of DTE Energy Foundation, was the keynote speaker at the Cleary commencement ceremony.
 
“Today, we celebrate you and the next phase of your life,” he announced. “If you don’t remember anything else from today, remember these four words: time is a gift. You are making the best decisions you can with the time you have. Don’t forget to find time to appreciate the beauty of your journey through life, invest and dedicate time to improve your life, find your purpose and enjoy the journey.”
 
About Cleary University
Founded in 1883, Cleary University is a four-year, nonprofit, private university, offering undergraduate and graduate degrees from a unique Business Arts curriculum, and driven by a
faculty of thought leaders with deep, practical experience in their industries. Providing on-
campus and online education models, Cleary also offers a robust athletic program of 19 sports
 
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and a rich residence life with nearly 200 students living on the quiet, rolling 50-acre campus.
Cleary graduates tend to land jobs faster than their peers and with higher earning salaries at the start of their careers.
 
Cleary University:
 

• #1 in Michigan for ROI among private, nonprofit business schools
• #5 in the nation for best online business degree
• #4 in Michigan for Best Business College
• #3 in Michigan for best average starting salary two years post-graduation
• One of the lowest tuition rates in Michigan among private colleges (#5)
• Ninth best university in the US for its MBA online leadership degree program
• #9 in Michigan for its MBA online degree program
• Top 10 in Michigan for best college dorm
• “Best for Vets College”
• Gold Level Veteran-Friendly status three years in a row from The Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency (MVAA) for continued excellence in serving military-connected students in Michigan
• Nationally recognized for high student access and strong post-graduation earnings

 
To learn more about Cleary University, visit its website: https://cleary.edu.