Hagar to Address Undergrads
Mon., May 14
Teacher, children's author and NBC correspondent Jenna Bush Hager will address approximately 1,200 graduates during the 2012 Undergraduate Commencement ceremony at Bridgeport's Webster Bank Arena on Friday, May 18. The event starts with an academic procession at 10:15 a.m.
Community leader Christopher J. Korenowsky, the executive director of the New Haven Free Public Library since October 2010, spoke at the School of Graduate Studies Commencement, held at the same venue the previous evening.
Two graduate commencement ceremonies were on campus at the Lyman Center for the last several years, but there was one combined ceremony at the Webster Bank Arena for 2012. The undergraduate commencement is also moving indoors at Bridgeport after being held outside at the Connecticut Tennis Center in Westville for the last eight years.
Jenna Bush Hager (left) is a contributing correspondent to NBC's "Today" where she focuses on telling the inspiring stories of wonderful people doing great things across America. In 2006, Hager traveled to Latin America as an intern with UNICEF. During her journey, she was inspired to write Ana's Story: A Journey of Hope, a New York Times bestseller based on the life of a 17-year-old single mother living with HIV and determined to shield her child from the abuse and neglect that riddled her own childhood. Hager shares her own stories of creating change in someone's life and leaves audiences with a call to action on how they too can improve people's lives in their own communities.
She is still very involved with UNICEF and is currently the chair of UNICEF's Next Generation, an initiative dedicated to reducing the number of preventable childhood deaths around the world. Hager visited Guatemala in 2010 where she reported on a product called "Sprinkles," a home food fortification which provides the proper iron, vitamins, folic acid and zinc required for healthy development in children.
Hager is a graduate of the University of Texas where she received a degree in English. Passionate about literacy, education and improving inner-city schools, Hager taught third grade at Elsie Whitlow Stokes Community Freedom Public Charter School in Washington, DC. She also served as a reading coordinator at the SEED Public Charter School in Baltimore, Maryland. In addition to Ana's Story, she is the co-author of Read All About It!, a book that encourages children to read.
Hager and her twin sister Barbara are the daughters of former U.S. President George W. Bush and Former First Lady Laura Bush. They are also the grandchildren of former President George H. W. Bush and Former First Lady Barbara Bush. Hager was married in 2008 to Henry Chase Hager, the son of former Virginia Republican Party Chairman John H. Hager.
A graduate of Kent State University, where he received his Master of Library and Information Science degree, Christopher Korenowsky (right) has almost 18 years of public library experience gained through his work at the Columbus Metropolitan Library in Columbus, Ohio. From direct public services to administrative management positions, he played a strong role in helping to shape the Columbus Memorial Library from 1991 to 2009.
In 2010, the Columbus Memorial Library was awarded the top prize in the industry when it was named Library of the Year by Library Journal magazine. Korenowsky holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English literature from Ohio State University. In February 2009, he became the director of professional development for the Ohio Library Council, the statewide organization that advocates legally and educationally for all 251 public libraries in the state of Ohio.
In addition to leading library teams through successful fund raising, building projects and budget and revenue generating initiatives, Korenowsky has extensive experience in working with strategic messaging and branding initiatives in public libraries.
