Deryck Toles, class of 2003, will give the keynote address at Penn State Shenango’s 2025 spring commencement ceremony at 11 a.m. on Friday, May 9.
SHARON, Pa. — Penn State 2003 alumnus Deryck Toles, founder and CEO of Inspiring Minds, will give the keynote address at Penn State Shenango’s spring commencement ceremony at 11 a.m. on Friday, May 9.
Toles graduated from Warren G. Harding High School in Warren, Ohio, in 1999 as a standout student-athlete, and was the recipient of the Franklin D. Watkins Award, which is given each year by the National Alliance of African American Athletes to the nation’s top male African American athlete. He went on to attend Penn State, where he was a standout football player and academic All-American, eventually becoming a captain of the Nittany Lion football team before earning his bachelor of science degree in management from the Smeal College of Business in 2003.
At the conclusion of a professional football career which was cut short by injury, Toles made it his personal and professional mission to give under-represented youth, like himself, access to life-changing opportunities and experiences. It was during this transitional time that Toles founded Inspiring Minds, an innovative after-school program based in his hometown of Warren that allows students to visit colleges across the country, travel to unique locations around the world, and turn their dreams into realities.
Now, 19 years later, Inspiring Minds provides after school and summer enrichment programming to more than 800 students annually, with eight chapters in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York and North Carolina, exposing them to over 100 different colleges and industries across the country, and provides scholarships for post-secondary education.
“We are so pleased that Deryck will be joining us on campus to celebrate the outstanding achievements of our students,” said Regional Chancellor Carey McDougall. “Deryck’s values are Penn State values and are the very values that bring all of us together for this occasion.”
Penn State Shenango’s spring commencement ceremony will be held in the Shenango Auditorium. Attendees can find directions and parking information on the website.
