YOUNGSTOWN — Mayor Jamael Tito Brown gives the commencement address and 1,020 graduates receive degrees as Youngstown State University celebrates fall commencement — though virtually — 2 p.m. Sunday.

The ceremony, moved online due to the COVID-19 pandemic, is available on the YSU homepage, YouTube and Facebook.

YSU President Jim Tressel will lead the ceremony, with additional remarks from Provost Brien Smith and deans from each of the university’s colleges. Brown gives the commencement address, while Kristen Thompson is the student speaker.

Brown, who has both bachelor’s and master’s degrees from YSU, was elected the 51st mayor of the city of Youngstown in 2017. He previously was chief deputy treasurer for Mahoning County, director of the Youngstown Human Relations Commission, a community organizer for YSU’s Center for Urban and Regional Studies and a caseworker for Mahoning County Children Services Board.

The mayor has served on the board of the Mahoning Valley Sanitary District, secretary of Wick Neighbors Inc., and chair of Mahoning-Youngstown Community Action Partners. He previously was president of Youngstown City Council, a member of council representing the 3rd Ward and a member of the Youngstown Board of Education.

Thompson, a Youngstown native and graduate of Poland Seminary High School, is earning a master’s degree in engineering. She also has a bachelor’s degree in electrical and computer engineering and an associate’s degree in music performance, all from YSU. She has completed four engineering internship rotations at the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. and will continue to work there after graduation. Additionally, she will return to YSU in the spring to pursue a Master’s of Business Administration degree.

Among her activities at YSU are: president of the Dana Double Reed Society, executive member of Sigma Alpha Iota, student reviewer for The Emperor, and a member of the Honors College, Sigma Alpha Lambda, IEEE and Tau Beta Pi. She also performed frequently as the principal oboist in the Dana Symphony Orchestra, Wind Ensemble and other chamber ensembles.

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