Convocation

Hamed Goharipour

Assistant Professor of Urban Studies and Middle Eastern & North African Studies

Hamed Goharipour is an assistant professor of Urban Studies and Middle Eastern & North African Studies. Professor Goharipour began his teaching career at The College of Wooster in 2020. He earned a Ph.D. in environmental design and planning from The Kansas State University. He teaches a variety of courses covering topics in urban studies in local and global contexts, including:

• Contemporary Urban Issues
• World Cities
• Social Justice and the City
• Urban Studio
• Cities in Cinema
• Web-based GIS

His current research is broadly concerned with the urban legacy of sporting mega-events. He studies how the host cities function before, during, and after the Olympic Games and FIFA World Cup, with a particular attention to the use, control, and appropriation of urban public spaces.

Ryan Gross '25

Vice President, Scot Council

Ryan Gross is a chemistry major and political science minor from Solon, Ohio. He currently serves as vice president of Scot Council and is a member of the swim and dive team. He has been actively involved with the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee since his first year at Wooster. After graduation, he plans to attend law school.

Shaunta Palmer '25

President, Black Student Association (BSA)

Shaunta Palmer ’25 is a dedicated economics major from Las Vegas, Nevada, and a proud first-generation college student. Over the past three years, Shaunta has made significant contributions to The College of Wooster community, both academically and through her involvement in various student organizations. She has served as a Multicultural Student Affairs Intern at the Center for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and worked diligently in Library Access Services.

A committed student leader, Shaunta is the current president of the Black Student Association, a role she also held during the 2023-2024 academic year. Her leadership journey includes serving as treasurer for both the Black Women’s Organization and the Black Student Association during the 2022-2023 school year, and as conference chair for the Black Women’s Organization in the 2023-2024 school year. Additionally, Shaunta has actively participated in the rugby team, Model UN, and the African Student Union, where she engaged with peers from diverse backgrounds.

Shaunta’s professional experience is equally impressive. She spent the past two summers interning at JP Morgan as a financial advisor fellow in wealth management and at Amazon as a risk specialist intern in internal audit. During her time at Amazon, she conducted fieldwork to verify processes within Amazon stores and developed a meal prep app to enhance the experience of Amazon employees. She also played a key role in the Black Employee Network Intern group, organizing events to foster connections among Black interns and employees.

Currently, Shaunta is working on her Senior Independent Study, where she aims to explore young adults’ perceptions of money. In her free time, she enjoys crocheting, building LEGO sets, reading, and spending quality time with friends.

Looking ahead, Shaunta is excited about the prospect of entering corporate America, with a particular interest in strategy or audit roles. She is thoughtfully considering multiple post-college opportunities as she prepares for the next chapter of her journey.

Minh Phan '25

Student Leader

Minh Phan ’25 is a computer science and studio arts double majors, math minor and digital & storytelling pathway student from Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

Minh is a multidisciplinary designer and artist who is involved in various artistic and cultural activities on campus. For three years, she was the artistic director for Chasing International Dance Team, uplifting the community spirit of dancing as well as bringing Chasing closer to the college campus. Event-wise, she co-organized the College’s premiere AAAPI Arts Festival and Global Bazaar 2024. She also brings her design skills into multiple campus positions including the libraries access services assistant, digital media assistant, and APEX community engagement intern.

This past summer, Minh was a product design intern and team lead at RadicalX- a tech-for-good AI lab based in NYC. In this role, she proposed novel features to improve the usability of an AI teaching assistant for low-tech educators and managed the efficiency of her team’s workflow to meet stakeholders’ expectations.

Minh’s Independent Study for computer science explored the application of voice-based technology in online grocery shopping experience for visually impaired shoppers. In her second I.S. for studio arts, Minh is dabbling into animation to convey a narrative about embracing imperfection.

During down time, Minh enjoys various artistic activities, hosting social cookouts for her friends, and reading about the design industry.

Post Wooster, Minh is pursuing a full-time role as a product designer in the field of productivity or gamified education technology. Still an on-going journey for her and many other career makers in tech.

Andy Zidron

Head Coach, Men's Soccer; Co-Chair, Staff Committee

Andy Zidron enters his 10th season as the head men’s soccer coach at The College of Wooster. Zidron is currently serving as the chair of the physical education minor and is the co-chair of Wooster’s staff committee.

With Zidron at the helm of the men’s soccer program, Wooster has a renewed emphasis on upping the intensity level, and the staff is very intentional in establishing relationships with the student-athletes to create a Wooster soccer family, with the focus on serving one another and working hard for the team. The Scots’ win total increased each year from 2016-18, with the program having its highest winning percentage since 2006 in 2018 (8-6-3). Individually, two alumni earned NCAA Postgraduate Scholarships during Zidron’s tenure – Andreas Xenofontos (2020) and Wilson Freije (2021).