When shanina dionna takes the stage at the University College Graduation Ceremony on May 8 as this year’s alumni speaker, they’ll know exactly how the graduating class of the fourth cohort of the Bachelor of General Studies (BGS) program is feeling.

dionna was right in those seats just last year when they graduated with their BGS degree. Since receiving their degree, the West Philadelphia-based visual and movement artist and certified Person-Centered Expressive Arts Therapy facilitator has hit the ground running and hasn’t stopped since.

“I’m still processing this opportunity to be able to be a commencement speaker considering my own educational journey. Freshman year of college failing miserably right out of school to going back to that same school and now giving lectures and speaking at graduation — this is what purpose feels like,” they said. “In the Bachelor of General Studies, you learn a lot about research, public speaking and sharing your ideas effectively. With the encouragement of Dr. Nicole Nathan (Assistant Professor and Faculty Director of the Bachelor of General Studies program), that was the push I needed to do this.”

What have they been involved in since their own graduation ceremony? dionna encompasses the year in one word — “everything!” Recognized by Philadelphia Magazine for “creating a positive space for mental health conversations,” dionna promotes emotional and behavioral wellness through the arts.

Their diverse career as an artist spans painting, expressive movement, installation, photography, glasswork, metalwork and filmmaking, “investigating my own mental health journey and that of the collective.”  A throughline through everything that they do is providing enriching, welcoming outlets for individuals and the community to freely express themselves — “Art helped save my life, I simply desire to pay that forward,” dionna said.

“Around the time I graduated, I was a Black Artist Fellow for Mural Arts Philadelphia. Fast forward to today, I’m now the artist in residence for the Paul Robeson House & Museum here in West Philly,” they said. “I have since successfully piloted my Expressive Arts Healing independent program at the Fleisher Art Memorial. It is a tuition-free program for adults that connects local wellness institutions, community-based programs and marginalized communities through representation, partnerships and creative expression.”

dionna also decided to add another chapter to their educational journey.

“After graduation, I immediately went right into grad school. I was accepted into the MA program in Art Therapy and Counseling at Drexel University and I’m doing really well — 4.0, shout out to that!” they said. “I’m so inspired and motived to deepen and expand the work on possibly even a global scale,” they said. “Being in art therapy and counseling is offering me the clinical background that I need to fortify the work that I’m doing.”

Certified as a Person-Centered Expressive Arts Therapy facilitator in 2021, they also started an independent practice for expressive arts healing available to children, teens, adults, schools, and cultural organizations. In Person-Centered Expressive Arts Therapy, according to dionna, the participant who is engaging in the practice “has agency over their healing experience through creative expression — there is no right or wrong way to do it.”

“There’s no judgement, even in the sense of positive judgement; it’s not about that. You’re not getting graded on what you create and it’s not about a finished work either,” they said. “Just like in life, we never get to a point where we’ve dotted all of the i’s and crossed all of the t’s in our life’s journey — so it is with creative expression. It’s a guiding experience for the person to reach their own healing and wellness.”

The goal of dionna’s practice “has been to make it accessible to my community within community-based settings.”

“I’ve built beautiful relationships with the likes of the Barnes Foundation, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Penn Museum, the Philadelphia Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual disAbility Services and the Philadelphia System of Care,” said dionna, who in 2018 was one of 20 artists worldwide to receive the inaugural Dean Collection 20 grant founded by musicians Alicia Keys and Swizz Beatz. “With all of these places, I’ve been able to bring my practice and facilitate for them. Then you have institutions like the Moore College of Art & Design who bring me in to offer my practice as something that their educators or educators within the city can implement or integrate into their curriculum — that’s what I share along with me personal journey as a creator, as a human.”

In 2025, dionna’s ARTbuds Philly program at the Urban Art Gallery turned nine years old.

“That’s a tuition-free non-profit program serving youths ages 8 to 13,” they said. “I also have a new mural that will be revealed this month. There is just so much going on — it’s been a very exciting and enriching time.”

During the May 8 University College Graduation ceremony, dionna said they will emphasize to the 2025 graduation the importance of having a “clarity of purpose.”

“I decided to go back to school after a decade away from traditional academia and I only made that decision based off of the clarity I had with my purpose; being deeply intentional about how I wanted to leverage the academic experience to support that purpose,” they said. “It’s very hard to sway someone who is very clear about what it is that they are meant to do.”

Their advice to other adults seeking a return to the classroom is simple — “give yourself a chance.”

“The BGS program is still a relatively new program and there aren’t many like it. If you have that inclination — and I hear it often from mature students who have been out of school for a while — just do it,” they said. “The BGS program at Temple meets you where you are. It best aligns with the flexibility that a mature student needs today.”    

The Bachelor of General Studies is designed for learners with prior college and at least sixty transferable credits who are ready to complete their undergraduate degree. The 120-credit bachelor’s program focuses on creating a solid foundation for a wide variety of careers and it allows students the opportunity to customize their degree path. Learn more about the Bachelor of General Studies here.