By Dave Johnson
W&M Athletics
 
Graduation weekend kicks off with Friday night's main ceremony at Zable Stadium. This year will see 2,406 graduates (grads and undergrads) receive their diplomas on what hopefully will be a rain-free evening.
 
Of that larger-than-usual number, there will be 144 student-athletes — 107 undergrads from 26 different majors, and 37 grad students representing six programs.
 
You already know about Charles Grant, now a rookie offensive lineman with the Las Vegas Raiders. Here are eight more athletes who graduate this weekend and where their next step will take them.
 
To paraphrase Dr. Seuss: Oh, the places they'll go!
 
Ryan Shonk, football
Degree: B.S., kinesiology and health sciences (minor biochemistry).
Up next: Volunteer work with Health Talents International
 
Friday night, Shonk will receive his diploma at Zable Stadium. Saturday morning, he'll be on a plane to Guatemala.
 
Shonk will spend the next six weeks as a volunteer with Health Talents International, which according to its web site promotes "medical evangelism in underdeveloped countries in Central America." He will be living with a host family in the Guatemalan Highlands.
 
"There are a couple of full-time American doctors who live over there and run a hospital," he said. "Some of the time, they go into these rural Mayan villages and provide health care for people who otherwise don't have access to Western medicine.
 
"I'll learn from them and meet a lot of people, and I'm really excited about that. This is something I've wanted to do for years."
 
The primary language in Guatemala is Spanish, although there are other dialects in the Mayan villages.
 
"I took five years of Spanish, so hopefully that will come back quickly over there," Shonk said. "There's a local language school and we'll be taking lessons, at least for the first couple of weeks."
 
Shonk will return to the States in late June, by which time he hopes to have been accepted by a medical school.
 
"I'm in process of applying for that now," he said.
 
Ine Stange, women's tennis
Degree: B.B.A., finance (minor in psychology)
Next chapter: Grad school, New York University
 
Four years ago, Stange left her home in Oslo, Norway, for William & Mary, where she would also play on the tennis team. Friday night, she'll have diploma in hand. But she'll be staying in the States — at least for a while.
 
Stange's first step will be a summer internship at Ogden CAP Properties, a real estate company that focuses on residential properties in New York City.
 
In the fall, she will begin classes at New York University, where she will pursue her Master's in real estate finance. She expects the program to be a year and a half.
 
"I always thought I would work here for a few years, but I wasn't sure until after last year," Stange said. "It's definitely a big decision to make.
 
"I just thought I was here already, so I might as well do a few more years. We'll see what happens after that."
 
It will be hard being away from longtime friend and W&M teammate Hedda Gurholt, who is also graduating with a BBA in finance but will be returning to Norway.
 
"We've been together for a long time," said Stange, who went 50-19 in her career dual matches. "I'm sure she'll come visit, and I'll obviously go back there."
 
Amy Schwem, volleyball
Degrees: B.S. Kinesiology, B.S. Psychology
Next chapter: Grad school, Rush (Ill.) University
 
As an athlete, it's natural to be interested in how the body works and what helps it function more efficiently. That factors into the degree Schwem will be picking up Friday and the Master's program she will begin in the fall at Rush University in Chicago.
 
"I've always found it interesting how you use your body as a tool to take your game to the next level," said Schwem, W&M's assist leader in all four of her seasons. "I'm a very competitive person, so I was always looking for ways to make myself better.
 
"When I was diagnosed with my autoimmune disease my freshman year, it just became that much more important so I could perform my best and stay healthy. I appreciate the power nutrition has for your life and I'm really excited to be able to keep learning more about it and help others down the road."
 
It's been a fun ride at William & Mary.
 
"I know it's cliché, but it's the people who makes the place," Schwem said. "I've grown as a person and I feel prepared for what's next, but it's going to be tough to move on from a place like this and people that have been such an integral part of my life."
 
Kayla Beckwith, women's basketball
Degree: M.B.A. Business, Management, Marketing, Related Support Services. (BBA Marketing, '23)
Next chapter: Marketing intern, Denver Broncos.
 
When Beckwith first arrived on campus, the pandemic was in full force and "masked up" was a common phrase. As she leaves, it will be with two degrees and having played a role in the program's first CAA championship — along with a first-round win in the NCAA tournament.
 
For years, Beckwith's goal had been to get into the sports industry. Her first post-graduate step will come as a marketing intern with the Denver Broncos.
 
"June 9th is my first day, and I'll be working a seasonal position in their marketing team," Beckwith said. "I'll be in Denver guaranteed from June to early March of next year, pretty much the season.
 
"The three sectors I was interested in (after college) were on-camera and then either front-office marketing, what I'm getting into now, or agency. I'm trying to figure out which of those I'll land a position in. Right now, I'm liking the front office aspect of things."
 
So is Beckwith, who grew up right between Baltimore and D.C., a Broncos fan? "If I wasn't before," she said, "I am now."
 
As for her five years at William & Mary?
 
"It's been a great ride," Beckwith said, "with a nice cherry on top that I really could have never imagined or planned for."
 
Claire Doto, lacrosse
Degree: B.S, Biology (minor kinesiology)
Next chapter: Penn Dental Medicine.
 
Growing up, Doto probably had no idea that she'd end up following in her grandfather's footsteps. Yet she, like Benjamin Doto before her, will be attending dental school at the University of Pennsylvania.
 
"My grandfather was my inspiration to look into dentistry," Doto said. "I kind of always had it in the back of my mind.
 
"I knew I wanted to do something medical for a long time, but I wasn't super sure which direction I wanted to go in until I got to school."
 
And one thing led to another.
 
"When I was a sophomore, I started shadowing my general dentist from my hometown (Randolph, N.J.) and then I shadowed Dr. (Matthew) Joosse, a William & Mary alum, here in Williamsburg. Those two experiences motivated me and made me want to pursue that career path."
 
As for which area of dentistry she wants to pursue, that's to be decided.
 
"It's going to depend on what I experience at school because at Penn, we get to do rotations in all the different specialties — orthodontics, endodontics, periodontics and probably a little bit of oral surgery. I want to keep an open mind, but I'm probably on the general track right now."
 
Malachi Imoh, football
Degree: M.S., Business Analytics (B.S., Computational and Applied Mathematics & Statistics '24).
Next chapter: TBA
 
Like Beckwith, Imoh transitioned from high school to college as COVID began rearing its ugly head. In the fall semester of '20, every class he took was online. His first football season, in the spring of '21, was only three games.
 
But also like Beckwith, Imoh persevered. Academically, he will be leaving with two degrees from one of the nation's finest universities. Athletically, he leaves at No. 8 on the program's all-time rushing list with 2,795 yards and tied for eighth in career rushing touchdowns with 26.
 
"I can look back on my time here holistically and say I really enjoyed all of it," he said. "I wouldn't change or done anything differently."
 
As for what's next, Imoh hasn't made a call on that yet.
 
"I'm still trying to figure it out," he said. "I'll probably go back home to Winchester for a little bit but then move to New York at some point this summer with my older brother and continue my job search there. I know I'll have a lot more opportunities there than I will back home.
 
"I want to work in data analytics. That's what I'm most interested in now. A lot of the job positions I'm looking into are for entry level data analyst positions."
 
Sean Joseph, men's tennis
Degree: B.A., Business Analytics.
Next chapter: AI/Automation Associate Consultant, IBM
 
When Joseph began classes in August of 2021, he was uncertain what area of study he wanted to pursue.
 
"Maybe business, maybe economics," Joseph said. "Then tennis was able to help me find analytics because we had this tool called PlaySight, (a sports technology company) which tracks analytics.
 
"With me wanting to become a better tennis player, I started getting into that. And as I looked into it, I found it more interesting."
 
Now, Joseph has that same feeling about Artificial Intelligence.
 
"In this day and age, AI has become more prominent," he said. "And if I can combine both of these things and learn more about it and become more specialized, it can be a deadly combo."
 
When Joseph arrived at W&M, he was the only freshman on a roster that included four grad students and three seniors. He estimates he had 20 teammates in his four seasons, a high number for tennis.
 
"I learned a lot about myself on the court here, and I've been able to find other passions like AI and analytics," he said. "This school did a great job of fostering me into a young man. No regrets. I wouldn't do it any other way."
 
Joseph will start work at IBM's Washington, D.C., office on July 14.
 
"I'm ready for the next chapter," he said.
 
Devin Genderson, women's swimming
Degree: B.S., neuroscience (minor biochemistry)
Next chapter: Fellowship, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
 
In her senior year, with graduation fast approaching, Genderson knew she eventually wanted to attend medical school. The question was, what would be the bridge?
 
Genderson found it by chance.
 
"I didn't want to go straight into (med) school, although I could have," she said. "We actually have a pre-med e-mail list at William & Mary. I was reading through it one week and this opportunity was there. That sounded like something that would be good for me."
 
Genderson is a recipient of the Medical Career Design Fellowship through the Orthopedic Center of the Children's Hospital. The two-year program allows students to explore many areas in medicine, including research, clinical practice, advocacy and education.
 
"I'm definitely interested in pediatrics," Genderson said. "All of the doctors have chosen to participate in this program, and they want us to be there and are invested in our success. If you decide you don't like orthopedics, that's OK, they'll help you connect to other specialties and areas.
 
"Each year, they graduate a class of five to six students who continue to medical school. I'm definitely keeping my options open and seeing how things shake out."
 
Genderson will always cherish her time at William & Mary.
 
"It's been amazing," she said. "I would do it again in a heartbeat."