Fairfax, Va. – On Monday, May 15, Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA) will hold its 57th commencement ceremony to recognize NOVA’s dedicated Nighthawks who have achieved their dream of completing a certificate or degree on their path to a rewarding and sustaining career. Dr. Melissa Lucas, Ph.D., a NOVA alumna and current post-doctoral associate at the Yale School of Medicine, will serve as commencement speaker.

Lucas is a developmental and educational psychologist who recently earned her doctorate from the University of Virginia's School of Education and Human Development. Currently, she works as a postdoctoral associate at the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence. Previously, she was a fellow at the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences. Lucas also holds a bachelor's in psychology and sociology from Virginia Commonwealth University and an associate in social science from NOVA.

“I am thrilled for this opportunity to return to my alma mater,” said Lucas. “I am so grateful for the foundation that was laid for me here at NOVA.”

Here are details on NOVA’s spring commencement ceremonies:

Date/Time: Monday, May 15, at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.

Location: George Mason University’s Eagle Bank Arena, 4500 Patriot Cir, Fairfax, VA, 22030

Ceremony 1: 10 a.m. (last names A-K)

Ceremony 2: 3 p.m. (last names L-Z)

The commencement ceremonies will be live streamed, recorded and closed-captioned for viewing purposes, and it will be made available on the NOVA website. For answers to frequently asked questions, please visit the Spring 2023 Commencement page link here. For questions about commencement, please email commencement@nvcc.edu. For media questions, please contact Hoang Nguyen, associate director of external communications, at hdnguyen@nvcc.edu.