May Lou Masculino has been named Lethbridge Polytechnic's Fall 2025 valedictorian. (Photo: Lethbridge Polytechnic)

By David Opinko

Lethbridge Polytechnic announces Fall 2025 valedictorian

Oct 6, 2025 | 12:03 PM

Mary Lou Masculino is this term’s top graduate at Lethbridge Polytechnic.

The Computer Information Technology (CIT) student has been named valedictorian.

She says she was surprised and deeply honoured the learn that she would be receiving this recognition.

“It felt surreal,” says Masculino. “When I met with Registrar Marko Hilgersom, and he explained everything to me, I was slowly processing the news. At the back of my mind, I kept asking myself if I was understanding the situation correctly. It was such an unexpected and amazing honour.”

Masculino is originally from the Philippines and came to Lethbridge in July 2023 as an international student.

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She had been working in IT audit and compliance, and says her decision to return to school was to build stronger foundational skills.

“For me, it struck the right balance between lectures and hands-on laboratory sessions,” she says. “Getting to work directly with computers, routers, firewalls and more helped bridge the gap between theory and real-world application. This has helped [my classmates and me] to be ready for any career after graduation.”

Timothy Frantz, CIT instructor and valedictorian nominator, says Masculino’s hard work, dedication and focus on excellence made her a standout student.

“Mary Lou was a leader in the classroom,” says Frantz. “She was seldom vocal, but her example of attention to detail, delivering more than asked for, developing a superior final product and overall professionalism inspired her classmates to reach deeper and perform much higher. Her professional style and demonstrated knowledge truly ‘raised the bar’ for her 71 classmates.”

Masculino also works as a research assistant in the University of Lethbridge’s Department of Neuroscience.

After graduating, she plans to return to the IT audit and compliance field, while also considering pursuing additional industry certifications.

She will lead the procession of graduates and speak at Lethbridge Polytechnic’s Fall 2025 Convocation Ceremony, which takes place at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, October 18.