Rey Sentina Selected as Spring Commencement 2025 Speaker

Rey Sentina, ‘14, has been selected as the Graduate Student Speaker for Montclair State University’s Spring 2025 Commencement. He will address ceremony attendees on Wednesday, May 7, at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ.

Sentina is a Montclair alumnus who has returned to complete the Masters in Higher Education (HIED) graduate program within the College for Education and Engaged Learning. This two-year hybrid graduate program equips current and future college and university leaders with relevant knowledge and practitioner-based skills to problem-solve through an equity and social justice lens.

Sentina presently works in a student-centered service role as an Administrative Services Coordinator in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHSS). He supports various administrative, academic, and event-related operations across multiple departments within the college by coordinating events, managing daily operations, and ensuring a smooth experience for faculty and staff.

He previously earned his undergraduate degree from Montclair in 2014, majoring in Sociology with double minors in Psychology and Dance. During this time on campus, Sentina worked as a Student Ambassador in the Department of Undergraduate Admissions and attributes this role as the starting point for viewing higher education as a viable career path.

Sentina is passionate about creating inclusive and culturally responsive environments in higher education, with a special focus on supporting international students. For three years, he taught English in the Jinhae District of Changwon, South Korea – famous for its annual cherry blossom festival – where he gained a deeper understanding of the challenges international students face when navigating new cultures and systems.

“From the onset of my time in the HIED program, I made it my goal to explore how higher education can better support international students,” Sentina says. He leveraged every class opportunity in the program to center his projects and papers around this focus, and finally, his capstone project.

In partnership with the Office of Global Engagement, Sentina launched a survey to better understand the needs of international graduate students at Montclair. “The survey for my capstone project wasn’t just about collecting data, but about initiating a larger conversation around inclusion, support, and meaningful engagement for these students,” he says.

Dr. Ashante Connor, Associate Vice President of Inclusive Excellence and Special Advisor to the President, says of Sentina: “Rey embodies the spirit of engaged learning, academic excellence, and community impact that defines our college and its mission. His ability to speak with authenticity, humility, and purpose makes him an ideal representative of this graduating class. Rey’s personal journey, commitment to international students, professional insights, and hopeful vision for the future of education will resonate deeply with our graduates.”

As the firstborn son of Filipino immigrants, Sentina says, “I deeply value the opportunities I’ve had, knowing that my journey was made possible by my parents’ decision to leave their small seaport town in the Philippines in search of a better life.”

Reflecting on his experience in the HIED program and his capstone project, he says, “I feel confident in my ability to continue this work and collaborate with higher education institutions to propose practical strategies for supporting the growing population of graduate international students. The faculty within CEEL challenged me to think critically about my research and the broader higher education landscape and provided unwavering support and belief in me. That foundation has been key to my growth, confidence, and success over the past three years.”

Outside of work and academics, Sentina enjoys reading a good book or dancing to K-pop in a studio – sometimes both in the same week.

Story written by College for Education and Engaged Learning