As graduation for the Class of 2011 approaches, here is a look at those attending college in the fall, along with some trivia connected to each school.

 American University, Washington, D.C. (Eagles)

 Robert Bouwmeester

 The Princeton Review listed American University as the most politically active school in the nation.

 Appalachian State University, Boone, North Carolina (Mountaineers)

 Kirstie Fleger, Sean Price, Darius Smith

 Considered one the greatest upsets in college football history, Appalachian State defeated Michigan 34-32 in 2007. Sean and Darius will play football for the Mountaineers while Kirstie will play soccer.

 Arizona State University, Phoenix, Arizona (Sun Devils)

Gerald Goodwin, Alyssa Siquerios

Sports announcer Al Michaels of the 1980 US Hockey’s “Do you believe in miracles?” fame is an alumnus. The school of journalism and communications is named after Walter Cronkite.

Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah (Cougars)

Madeleine Evans

Ken Jennings, the winningest game show contestant and Stephanie Meyer, author of the Twilight series, are both graduates of BYU.

Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio (Spartans)

Griffin Allison

The 2004 Vice-Presidential Debate between then Vice-President Dick Cheney and Senator John Edwards was held on Case Western campus

Christopher Newport University, Newport News, Virginia (Captains)

Giselle Duran, Sebastian Miyagi-Melgar, Nina Rodriguez

The Geese Fountain in Saunders Plaza on campus was designed so the water flow sounds like the flapping of wings.

College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Virginia (Griffins)

Ian Anderson, Walter Boone, Jessica Erhardt, Crystal Sadrzadeh, Maab Yasin

Mike Tomlin, who coached the Pittsburgh Steelers to the Super Bowl title in February 2009, played wide receiver/tight end at William and Mary in the early 1990s.

Cornell University, Ithaca, New York (Bears)

Maur Dessauvage

Cornell University Press was the first university publishing enterprise in the United States and is one of the country’s largest university presses.

Delaware State University, Dover, Delaware (Hornets)

Ken Robair

Delaware State University offers studies in aviation through its Department of Airway Science.  This program prepares students for careers as pilots, air traffic controllers, and airline management.

Ferrum College, Ferrum, Virginia (Panthers)

Ramona Bright

Legend has it that Ferrum’s Schoolfield Hall, home of the Blue Ridge Dinner Theatre, is haunted.

Flagler College, St. Augustine, Florida (Saints)

Ione Quinn

Flagler College, named after Henry Flagler, was originally built as a hotel. It is located in St. Augustine, Florida, the oldest city in the continental United States.

Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida (Seminoles)

Anndi Liggett

Florida State is only one of two schools that have its own collegiate circus. Since 1947, the Flying High Circus is a year-round program that allows student participation.

George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia (Patriots)

Linden Abston, Laura Albert, Cameron Arshadi, Martha Desrosiers, Mohamed El Nahal, Mostafa El Nahal, Nusheen Farahani, Joshua Grant, Jacob Haack, Emery Hart, Emily Jenkins, Erin McCann, Ricardo Montoya Alvarez, Hala Nicholas, Emily, Paros, Ramakrishnan Ramanarayanan, David Ramzy Labib, Italo Romero, Caitlin Ryals, Andrew Sherzinger, Tyler Wiseman

When it was established in 1957, George Mason University was a branch of the University of Virginia.  The college became independent in 1972.

Glenville State College, Glenville, West Virginia (Pioneers)

Deon King

Known as the Lighthouse on the Hill, Glenville has 28 buildings on 30 acres but has only an enrollment of approximately 1,500.

James Madison University, Harrisonburg, Virginia (Dukes)

Matthew Allen, Morgan Barlow, Sidney Barton, Wesley Casson, Daniel Delcoco, Danielle Essig, Lauren Herron, Carlos Lara, Benjamin Raymond, Abigail Short, Julie Thomas

Local NBC sportscaster Lindsay Czarniak graduated from James Madison University.

Johnson & Wales University, Providence, Rhode Island (Wildcats)

Ryell Bradley, Michael Kojoyan

Johnson & Wales has four locations in the United States, however the campus in Rhode Island is the oldest and largest.

Juniata College, Huntington, Pennsylvania (Eagles)

Adam Cline

Juniata College is named after its namesake river, Juniata River, which is a major tributary of the Susquehanna River.

La Salle University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Explorers)

Bethany Lowe

The mascot actually derives from a 1931 mistake made by a sportswriter. The writer thought the university was named after the French explorer Sieur de La Salle, even though it is named after St. John-Baptiste de La Salle, and then the explorer was voted as the mascot by the class of 1932.

Longwood University, Farmville, Virginia (Lancers)

Eva Forman

Longwood University is the third oldest higher education campus in Virginia, trailing only the University of Virginia and the College of William and Mary.

Louisiana Tech University, Ruston, Louisiana (Bulldogs)

Kymberly McCoy

Louisiana Tech conducts many research projects for notable government agencies such as the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, National Institute of Health, and Department of Defense.

Lynchburg College, Lynchburg, Virginia (Fighting Hornets)

Nora Barczay, Sydney Carpenter

Jerry Falwell, founder of Liberty University, attended Lynchburg College for two years as a journalism student.

Methodist University, Fayetteville, North Carolina (Monarchs)

Jorge Alvarado

In September 1960, Methodist College opened for business with 88 full-time students, 12 faculty members and four buildings.

Montgomery College, Montgomery County, Maryland (Falcons)

Tsiyon Gurmu

Creators of “The Blair Witch Project,” Eduardo Sánchez and Neal Fredericks, graduated from Montgomery College in 1989 and 1990 respectively.  

Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, Massachusetts (Lyons)

Ann Schindler

A Mount Holyoke alumnus is poet Emily Dickinson, who graduated in 1849.

New York University, New York, New York (Bobcats)

Phillip Vollman

Alumni from New York University have won 33 Nobel Prizes, 21 Academy Awards, and 16 Pulitzer Prizes.

Norfolk State University, Norfolk, Virginia (Spartans)

Hilton Cole

Paul Hines, the inspiration for character portrayed by Denzel Washington in “Remember the Titans,” graduated from Norfolk State University.

Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts (Huskies)

Victoria Sigle

Northeastern University property includes the former Red Sox ballpark, Huntington Avenue Grounds

Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona (Lumberjacks)

Erik Schroder

The Arizona Cardinals of the NFL conduct their summer training camp at Northern Arizona University’s Flagstaff campus.

Northern Virginia Community College, Northern Virginia

Mohiyadin Abdi, Yamma Afghani, Satvinder Bhurjee, Adel-Karim Brown, Ugur Bulut, Farah Farzaie, Tyrell Fitzgerald, John Fulcher, Brendan Galbraith, Kimberely Gyapong, Maisha Hasan, Masood Hashimi, Michael Heitfield, Edward Hirsh, Mohammed Hummad Gimi, Denzel Joseph-Walker, Amanjot Kalra, Ashley Lindsay, Timothy Lindsay, Mark Linsangan, Iffat Qamar, George Ramirez, Bushraa Rauf, Daniella Rosado, Jacob Roth, Janette Saige, Jaspreet Sambe, Kayla Schroff, Jamil Shaban, Khawaja Shah, Mahd Siddiqi, Raytwan Silva, Yodh Singh, Ebenezer Tetteyfio, Delante Walston, Danielle Weitzel, Jakemeia Wright, Mohamed Ali, Lorena Arias Arias, Kenneth Barros, Elena Bedoya, Cristian Bocanegra Bejarano, Marvin Campanilla, Carlos Cedeno, Jonathan Coello, Anthony Davis, Vanessa Friedrichs, Naja Gatling, Davon Hall, Deonte Harris-Stewart, Christina Hill, Christopher Jones, Zimmal Kayani, Dmitrievich Khvan, Kennie Lara, Maxwell Leon-Guerrero, Bryan Linsangan, Joseph Lopez Giron, Nahla Messaoudi, Eduardo Molina, Benjamin Munoz, Parwin Noor Ahmed, Emily Panameno, Mildre Rios Hernandez

NOVA is the second largest multi-campus community college in the United States and the largest educational institution in Virginia.

Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia (Monarchs)

Alyssa Gilbert, Fatima Khelwati, Marwa Osman

Old Dominion was originally the Norfolk division of the College of William and Mary.

Pennsylvania State University at Abington (Nittany Lions)

Alexander Saners

Before it was called Pennsylvania State at Abington, the campus was called The Ogontz School for Girls and was attended by aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart.

Pensacola Christian College, Pensacola, Florida (Eagles)

Isabo Guevara Chira

Pensacola has been nicknamed the City of Five Flags because it has been ruled by Spain, France, Britain, the Confederacy, and the United States.

Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey (Tigers)

Damir Golac

F. Scott Fitzgerald, First Lady Michelle Obama, and former presidents James Madison and Woodrow Wilson attended Princeton.

Radford University, Radford, Virginia (Highlanders)

Theodore Ferrin, Ama Kyei, Carey Mitchell, Nathan Pool, Julian Whitney

Radford University was once a women-only college and prior to its separation, was part of Virginia Polytechnical Institute.

Richard Bland College, Petersburg, Virginia

Nicole King

Richard Bland College is a branch of the College of William and Mary.

Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, Terre Haute, Indiana (Fighting Engineers)

Collin Coker

Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology has a public game room called Chauncey’s, which includes two pool tables, a ping pong table, a foosball table, and an air-hockey table.   

Saint Paul’s College, Lawrenceville, Virginia (Tigers)

Sherokee Werts

The college was founded in 1888 with fewer than a dozen students attending.

Shepherd University, Shepherdstown, West Virginia (Rams)

Sarah Nibley

The original building of Shepherd University was a vacated courthouse.

Southern University and A&M College, Baton Rouge, Louisiana (Jaguars)

Vadriane Brown

American Idol judge Randy Jackson is an alumnus of Southern University and A&M College

Stevenson University, Stevenson, Maryland (Mustangs)

Garrett Davis

Stevenson College was previously called Villa Julie College and changed its name in 2008.

Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York (Orange)

Maxwell Rosner

Vice President Joe Biden graduated from Syracuse University.

Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Owls)

Julia Deschamps, Kelly Kolb, Tatiana Swedek

In the fictional show “Bones,” character Lance Sweets has a master’s degree in abnormal psychology from Temple University.

The American Musical and Dramatic Academy, New York, New York

Leticia Conceica

The Academy has two campuses, one in New York and the other in Los Angeles.

The Catholic University of America, Washington D.C. (Cardinals)

Nehha Alam, Maedeh Navid

Of the 51 members of the board of trustees of The Catholic University of America, 24 are bishops and 8 are cardinals.

The University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona (Wildcats)

Charles McCarthy

The University of Arizona was founded in 1885 and was the first university in the state of Arizona.

The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina (Tar Heels)

Abigail Coryell, Kimberly Mejia, Nigel Moore, William Sickenberger

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is the oldest public school in the United States and one of the original Ivy League schools.

The University of Northwestern Ohio, Lima, Ohio (Racers)

Gregory Osborn

The University of Northwestern Ohio is the only one in the nation to have its own racetrack and was the first to offer scholarships for motorsports.

Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts (Jumbos)

Nicholas Guarnaccia

Tufts University has been used in the television shows “Sabrina the Teenage Witch” and “Friday Night Lights,” as well as in the movie “The Next Karate Kid.”

United States Naval Academy, Annapolis, Maryland (Midshipmen)

Joshua Erhardt

Tuition is fully funded for students attending the academy in exchange for military service afterward.

University of Mary Washington, Fredericksburg, Virginia (Eagles)

Samantha Gross, Robert Kingsley, Nathaniel Larson, Kevin Le, Sandrine Ly, Sarah Lynch, Apol Shane Mendoza, Madeline Moravitz, Margaret Oswalt, Katherine Stosch, Gabriella Taweel

Approximately 289 University of Mary Washington students studied abroad last year on either year-long, semester or summer programs. The University offers 14 of its own faculty-led summer programs and 116 exchange or direct enroll opportunities with universities abroad in a variety of locations.

University of Maryland, College Park, College Park, Maryland (Terrapins)

Monica Chowdhury, Tayler Esherick

Jim Henson, creator of “The Muppets,” graduated from Maryland in 1960.

University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (Panthers)

Christopher Howard

Gene Kelly, known for his role in the movie “Singin in the Rain,” is a graduate.

 University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico (Tarzans)

Wilfredo Corps-Ortiz

While the nickname Tarzans is for the men, the women are known as the Janes. Puerto Rico competes in NCAA Division II athletics.

University of Richmond, Richmond, Virginia (Spiders)

Alexander Turner

The current general manager of the Washington Redskins, Bruce Allen, is an alumnus of Richmond. So is the creator of the famous 1970’s television series “The Waltons,” Earl Hammer.

University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California (Trojans)

Andrew Reinhold

In 1979, the Trojan Marching Band recorded the title track for the album “Tusk” with the rock group Fleetwood Mac, which resulted in a platinum album for that song. No other collegiate marching band has ever been so honored.

University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia (Cavaliers)

Brandon Christopher, Katherine Cunningham, Mary Davis, Ali Fattahi, Mina Fawze, Michael Giaon, Michaela Graves, Emily Harper, Kristina Hosi, John Walter Keady, Michael Light, Gohar Markayan, Dien Nguyen, David Odlen, Alexander Peters, Keishan Prakash, David Roache, Miles Sollinger, Pia von Barby, Li-Chang Wang

UVA was founded by Thomas Jefferson in 1819. Edgar Allan Poe is an alumnus.

University of Virginia’s College at Wise, Wise, Virginia (Highland Cavaliers)

Yannick Faubert, Ja’Juan Jones

Ranked among the nation’s top 10 public liberal arts colleges by U.S. News & World Report, UVA at Wise is the only branch of the University of Virginia.

University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin (Badgers)

Justin Williams

Wisconsin has many famous alumni, including Charles Lindbergh, the first to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean, and astronaut Jim Lovell, the commander of the Apollo 13 mission.

Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia (Rams)

Nabill Abdousalam, Noah Bethel, Alexis Bridges, Kia Brown, Sheree Chen, Sobechukwu Chinaka, Grace Dobbs, Jacob Greenbaum, Sampson Hijar, Hortance Houngbeke, Lena Ismail, Richard Kropp-Sulivan, Christine Mai, Tibyan Mohamed, Raana Moltaji, Alexander Mowinski, Tanya Negin, Cristina Oancea, Alexandra Palmer, Kaela Rose Murdock, Zana Schmitz, Nina Shostko, Snehi Shrestha, William Sweet, James Taylor, Reed Wheeler

VCU just completed a magical season of college basketball by reaching the NCAA Men’s Final Four.

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Virginia (Hokies)

Ashley Adams, Nada Adibah, Morgan Alston, Justin Atwater, Nabil Bakhshi, Brian Bixby, John Clough, Julia Cockrill, Christine Comer, Brandon DiCarlo, Kaley Duncan, William Goswick, Sara Hoyos Cortes, Harrison Hughes, Peter Hutchins, Zeinab Nilforoush, Mazar Sayad, Christopher Seikaly, Sean Shada, Timothy Teh, Alexa True, Annaliese Whaley

VT’s marching band, The Marching Virginians, claim that by each member put together, march over 65,000 miles each year, equivalent to three times around the world.

Virginia Wesleyan College, Norfolk, Virginia (Marlins)

 Dominique Fitzgerald, Ahou Goli, Mary Skillman

Virginia Wesleyan College will finally get a fight song this year.

West Virginia University, Morgantown, West Virginia (Mountaineers)

Bryan Alverez Romero, Edwin Medrano

Actor Don Knotts from “The Andy Griffith Show” graduated from WVU.