During the spring of 2020, Marist College students and faculty finished the semester virtually due to the pandemic. Marist invited those students back for full Commencement activities this spring. We’re taking the opportunity to reconnect with some of the Class of ’20 two years after their graduation.


Sabell Strachan

Sabell Strachan

Sabell graduated Magna Cum Laude from Marist as a criminal justice major with a minor in social work. While at Marist, she was inducted into the National Society for Leadership and Success and the Criminal Justice honor society. She was also president of Marist’s chapter of It's on Us, a club that raises awareness of sexual assault on college campuses across the country, and was an intern for the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc., Changing the Present, and the Dutchess County Public Defender's Office. She just graduated from Columbia University's School of Social Work and will soon be taking her licensing exam.


Richard Monsky (left) and Amanda Guy (right)

Richard Monsky

Richard was 2019 Goldwater scholar and graduated magna cum laude with a B.S. in chemistry at Marist. A member of the Honors Program, he received the 2019 Mid-Hudson ACS College Recognition Award and the 2020 ACS Organic Division Undergraduate Award. He conducted research for five semesters at Marist, in biology and chemistry, and for two summers at chemistry REU programs at NYU and NC State. He presented his research at several local and national conferences. He is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in chemistry at Northwestern University.

Amanda Guy

Amanda graduated summa cum laude from Marist with a degree in communication with concentrations in advertising and journalism, and a paralegal certificate. At Marist, she was a tutor counselor and a peer mentor and received the School of Communication and the Arts Award for Advertising. She was also selected as one of the American Advertising Federation’s Most Promising Multicultural Students for 2020. Amanda was also a member of the Women’s Rowing Team and Lambda Pi Eta, Alpha Delta Sigma, and Alpha Chi honor societies.

As an undergraduate, she completed internships for U.S. Representative Sean Patrick Maloney and Xandr, where now works as an Account Manager. At Xandr, she serves as a board member of the Black Empowerment Business Resource Group, a mentor for Girls Who Code, and Program Lead for their PSA Program. She is also a member of the American Advertising Federation's Mosaic Next Generation Leadership Council and a ERG/DEI Advisory Board Member of Joyn.

This is a series featuring Marist graduates of the Class of 2020, who have been invited back to campus to celebrate Commencement on Saturday, May 28.