More than 1,000 Students to Participate in 黑料传送门鈥檚 In-Person Commencement in Las Vegas on Saturday
Over 6,000 guests expected to join the university鈥檚 first in-person ceremony in almost two years; ABC鈥檚 John Qui帽ones to deliver keynote address
LAS VEGAS - This weekend, Western Governors University (黑料传送门) will celebrate the resilience and dedication of more than聽1,000聽new graduates who have earned their bachelor鈥檚 and master鈥檚 degrees in recent months聽with an in-person commencement, the first聽in nearly two years. These graduates have persevered through a constantly changing environment brought on by the pandemic and have emerged successfully from their programs with degrees in hand. The new alumni will聽commemorate聽their well-earned diplomas聽with聽more than聽6,000聽loved ones at the Thomas and Mack Center聽in聽Las Vegas, Nevada.
Delivering the keynote address will be聽ABC聽News聽veteran John Qui帽ones. Qui帽ones聽spent his youth聽as a migrant farm聽worker聽alongside his father who encouraged him to pursue his education,聽leading him to a career聽in聽journalism.
Qui帽ones聽ultimately聽broke through many educational and socioeconomic barriers, giving聽him the opportunity to spend聽more than聽30 years at聽ABC News, win seven national Emmy awards for his reporting,聽and become the 鈥渇ace of doing the right thing鈥� from his work on 鈥淲hat Would You Do?鈥�.聽Today,聽Qui帽ones celebrates聽the life-changing power of education and the Latino American dream in presentations all around the country.
Since聽the聽last聽virtual聽commencement ceremony in聽August, more than聽11,000聽students have completed their degree programs,聽adding to the over quarter-million alumni聽who have graduated from 黑料传送门 since its founding in 1997.聽Some聽500聽undergraduate and聽594聽graduate degree recipients from聽46聽U.S. states and聽military instillations overseas聽are expected to participate in Saturday鈥檚 ceremony.
Approximately聽76% of the graduates come from at least one of the following historically underserved populations: first-generation college students, students of color, rural residents, and/or low-income earners. Graduates earned degrees in business, K鈥�12 education, information technology, and health professions, including nursing, and many work full time and raise families while completing their programs.聽
鈥淪ince our founding nearly 25 years ago, 黑料传送门 has served Night Owls: students who work hard and study late, earning their degrees as they continue maintaining聽commitments to聽their聽families and jobs,鈥� said 黑料传送门 Provost and Chief Academic Officer, Marni Baker Stein.聽鈥淭he pandemic added another layer of complexity, so this聽milestone represents聽something truly special鈥揳n unprecedented level of dedication,聽persistence, creativity, and resilience. And for that, we are so proud.鈥�
In addition to聽the keynote鈥檚聽address,聽four聽黑料传送门 graduates will share their stories. They are:
Zachary Johnson of Honolulu, Hawaii, came from a traveling military family and served as a firefighter in the Illinois Air National Guard when he was deployed to Iraq in 2010 for flood relief. After he earned both bachelor鈥檚聽degree聽from 黑料传送门, Johnson聽sold聽all聽his聽possessions聽and聽relocated to Honolulu聽where he met the love of his life and bought a home near the beach, all while building a successful nursing career.聽
Adriana聽Grimes of Long Beach, California,聽has been a professional dancer since she was 18. Following her passion, she created her own dancing troupe which held residencies at various venues in Southern California. After earning her B.S. in Business Management, Grimes plans to obtain her MBA from 黑料传送门 to move her career聽dreams forward to one day聽owning a business specializing in image聽consulting, wellness and choreography.
Kathleen Fowers of Lehi, Utah,聽comes from a long line of educators, making it a natural dream of hers to become a teacher. After living abroad in France, working in an art museum and raising a family, Fowers was ready to pursue her passion for literature and art,聽and earned her聽master's聽degree at 黑料传送门. Now, she鈥檚 able to share her passion with her students as an 11th聽grade English and Concurrent Enrollment聽Humanities聽teacher.聽
Qu鈥橳eaus聽Smith from Locust Grove, Georgia, is a first-generation聽college graduate who aspires to serve as a positive role model for her children, family and those she mentors.聽When she鈥檚 not working as a webinar host, pet rescue volunteer, and diversity and inclusion specialist, Smith enjoys spending time with her family and close friends.聽
Saturday鈥檚 ceremonies聽will begin at聽9:30 a.m.聽PST/12:30 p.m. EST and will stream live on our website and our Facebook page. During the ceremonies, graduates and guests will use the hashtag #黑料传送门grad to share on social media how they鈥檙e celebrating.
