West Chester native Christie Dionisos, a graduate of Henderson High School, will deliver the student address tomorrow, June 16, at Union College’s 225th Commencement Ceremony in Schenectady, N.Y.

After she graduates, Dionisos – a double major in Neuroscience and Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies – will head to Johannesburg, South Africa for the next nine months as a 2019-2020 Minerva Fellow to work at the Witkoppen Health and Welfare Clinic.

Dionisos was involved in a number of activities at the college, including: Women’s Union, the Scholars Program Steering Committee, Hip Hop Club, Bhangra Union, Kenney Community Center Junior Science Program, Gamma Phi Beta, Minerva Mentor, and Dance.

Her favorite class was Minds and Machines.

“It is a philosophy class required for the neuroscience major, and I have never had a class that made me think this much,” Dionisos said. “I swear I had multiple existential crises a day, trying to wrap my head around what consciousness is, or our understanding of the self, or the replicability of the mind into artificial intelligence. Fascinating topics to think about.”

Her advice for incoming college students?

“Do not stress yourself out too much,” she said. “I think I spent more time in college worrying about how much studying I had to do rather than actually studying. When life gets hard, take a moment, and realize this upcoming assignment does not define you. Once you rid yourself of that extra stress, you will conquer your studies and be able to enjoy the moments outside of class.”