As the end of the 2023-2024 academic year rapidly approaches, 1,103 Rutgers School of Communication and Information students are looking forward to graduating. Nearly 4,000 guests -- including graduates, their families, and friends, are expected to attend the SC&I graduation ceremony on Thursday, May 9, 2024 from 10 a.m. – 12  p.m. at Jersey Mike’s Arena (formerly the Rutgers Athletic Center (RAC)) on the Rutgers Livingston campus.

The undergraduates who will earn SC&I bachelor’s degrees this year include 317 Communication majors; 450 Information Technology and Informatics majors; and 117 Journalism and Media Studies majors. Of those, six will graduate with double majors in SC&I: four combining COM and JMS, one COM and ITI, and one ITI and JMS. In addition, 281 undergraduate students minored in Digital Communication, Information, and Media and 17 minored in Gender and Media.

Of the graduate students, 69 will graduate with a Master of Communication and Media (MCM) degree; 9 with a Master of Health Communication and Information (MHCI) degree; 136 with a Master of Information (MI) degree; and 9 with a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) Degree in Communication, Information, and Media. 

The ceremony will begin with a processional of the Class of 2024, led by Gonfalonier Kevin Ewell, Associate Dean for Student Services at SC&I. 

Once the graduates are seated, the Rutgers group Shockwave will sing the “Star Spangled Banner” and the Rutgers alma mater song “On The Banks of the Old Raritan,” which was written in 1873 by Howard Newton Fuller, class of 1874.

Dean for Administration Karen Hundert Novick will welcome the graduates and their families, followed by Interim Dean Dafna Lemish who will deliver a special message to the graduates. 

After Dean Lemish’s remarks, the President of the SC&I Alumni Association, Ron Jantz, Ph.D.’13, MI’97, who is a Digital Library Architect at Rutgers University Libraries, will deliver the SC&I Alumni Association presentation. All SC&I graduates are automatically enrolled in the alumni association upon graduation, making them able to immediately benefit from the networking opportunities, events, and other benefits the association provides.

The SC&I 2024 class speaker, Michael (Benjiman) Argen, who majored in Communication and minored in Political Science, will then address the audience. Following his presentation, the students will begin to approach the stage to receive their degrees, starting with the Ph.D. students, whose degrees will be conferred by Professor of Journalism and Media Studies and Director of the SC&I Doctoral Program Melissa Aronczyk. 

In his graduation speech, titled “Democratizing Storytelling,” Argen said he will speak about his journey through higher education as a New Jersey student and “how Rutgers University helped me reach my highest potential.” 

In his graduation speech, titled “Democratizing Storytelling,” Argen said he will speak about his journey through higher education as a New Jersey student and “how Rutgers University helped him reach my highest potential.” 

Born in Freehold, raised in Marlboro, and currently living in Englishtown, New Jersey, he began his journey through higher education at Brookdale Community College back in 2018. Then, his dream was to work in television, using episodic storytelling to create a sense of community, evoke emotion, and bring people out of their day-to-day lives. 

The COVID-19 pandemic, like with many other students, redirected his journey a bit, Argen said. “Things were so uncertain, and the world was, well… closed! I decided to hunker down at home, pause school, and study real estate to help my mother with her small business, utilizing social media to promote her upcoming residential/commercial property listings.” 

Although he still dreamed of attending a four-year college, he wanted to wait until campuses reintroduced in-person learning. “As a low-income, nontraditional student,” Argen said, “access to a 4-year institution, let alone the, “college experience,” was far-fetched. I didn’t want to do it from the computer.” 

He chose to attend Rutgers-New Brunswick because of the “natural pipeline created by the New Jersey’s promise to make a college degree more accessible and affordable, through the State-Wide Transfer Agreement and the Garden State Guarantee,” he said, ”Also, Rutgers is close to home!”

He said his passion for storytelling, media, and the umbrella of “communication” led him to The School of Communication & Information at Rutgers.  

As this year’s class speaker, Argen said, “I am excited to share my journey and give a good send-off to my graduating class."

During his time in New Brunswick, Argen served as President of the Rutgers Public Relations Student Society of America (Todd Hunt Chapter), and was recognized as the Future PR Professional of 2023 at the Public Relations Society of America’s (New Jersey Chapter) annual Pyramid Awards. Benjiman has worked a number of high-profile internships, with Violet PR, Coyne PR, and most recently, the Communication Team in the New Jersey Governor’s Office. Argen’s portfolio of work includes copywriting, social media management, and content creation, in the economic development, healthcare, and government/political sector. 

As Rutgers PRSSA President, he grew chapter participation by more than double and was able to create a community with peers from all over the university, including Rutgers Business School students. He recounts his favorite memory as being able to, “attend AdWeek 2023 in New York City. I heard from industry leaders, like Google, Amazon, and Netflix, discussing their future plans for advertising. I even got a picture with Paris Hilton!“

Speaking on the experience he gained through his internships, Argen said, “they all gave me a chance, which I will be forever grateful for - to learn and broaden my horizons. Not everyone has access to these opportunities so it's always an immense honor to be in any professional setting. I like to think I take little parts of every organization I’ve been with and bring it into my next venture.”

As this year’s class speaker, Argen said, “I am excited to share my journey and give a good send-off to my graduating class. Growing up, I was surrounded by so many people who had access to opportunities I never thought would be available to me. My overall experience at Rutgers and SC&I, including being asked to do the student address, has disproved that notion. The decision to take on loans to see my higher education through, weighed heavily on me for a long time, and Rutgers University has made it so worthwhile.“

Reflecting upon his time at SC&I, Argen said, “I will miss the many mentors who have molded my time here, like Mark Beal, Erin Christie, Tatiana Rodriguez, Haley Nolan-Cody, and Meghan Ingstrup. My friends I have made along the way, and the sense of belonging that SC&I brings to all of its students. Of course, I will miss PRSSA!” 

Following graduation, he plans to maintain his track in government relations. In the near future, he wishes to coordinate a partnership between Rutgers University, and Netflix Inc. to revitalize the School of Communication & Information.

“To tell a story is to be human,” Argen said, “My vision is to develop what will be known as The Rutgers University Creator Studio Powered by Netflix: a state-of-the-art facility that will provide world-class media production training programs, from short-form content creation to full-length feature films, open to both students, and the general public; ultimately acting as a pipeline to the currently developing Fort Monmouth facility.” 

SC&I Convocation is held annually in conjunction with the University Commencement. This year, the 258th Anniversary Commencement at Rutgers University–New Brunswick and Rutgers Health will be held on Sunday, May 12, 2024, at SHI Stadium in Piscataway, starting at 10 a.m. Rutgers President Jonathan Holloway will preside over the ceremony, conferring degrees to graduates and honorary recipients.

Learn more about the Rutgers School of Communication and Information on the website.

Photos: Benjiman Argen addressing the class of 2024 at the SC&I graduation ceremony on May 9, 2024