{"id":161032,"date":"2024-12-20T15:47:28","date_gmt":"2024-12-20T22:47:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/?p=161032"},"modified":"2024-12-20T15:51:37","modified_gmt":"2024-12-20T22:51:37","slug":"uccs-celebrates-fall-class-of-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/?p=161032","title":{"rendered":"UCCS celebrates Fall Class of 2024"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Graduates at the Fall 2024 Commencement ceremony<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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UCCS conferred nearly 1,000 degrees to students from the Class of 2024 on Friday, December 20, with nearly 500 graduates in attendance for the Fall 2024 Commencement ceremonies at the Broadmoor World Arena.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Graduates this semester earned 22 doctoral degrees, 107 master\u2019s degrees, 71 associate degrees and 687 bachelor\u2019s degrees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Commencement Marshal Jennifer Kling, Associate Professor in the Department of Philosophy and Director of the Center for Legal Studies; Jennifer Sobanet, Chancellor of UCCS; Todd Saliman, President of the University of Colorado system; and the 2024 Distinguished Alumnus Speaker, Retired Navy Commander John B. Herrington, \u201983, naval aviator, test pilot, aquanaut and astronaut; addressed graduates during the day\u2019s ceremonies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“You don\u2019t need to have all the answers,” said Kling, “what you need is a willingness to be on your way, with the necessary equipment to do whatever is needed to build a more just and more peaceful world. You have the willingness; I have seen it, as have all the faculty, in your hard work at UCCS. You also have the necessary equipment; you have your knowledge, your skills, your community, your kindness and (I hope!) your joy.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chancellor Sobanet then took the stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCommencement is a joyful time, but it is also a time for us to reflect \u2013 on the work we have already accomplished, and the work that is yet to be done,\u201d Chancellor Sobanet said in her address. \u201cThe challenges of the world are ever-present. In response, we must commit to being outstanding citizens who stand up for what is right and good. We must commit to compassion, patience, and respect. We must be willing to serve \u2013 to give our time and talent to the communities in which we live. We must engage in respectful discourse that protects the right of all people to express themselves freely, leading to new knowledge and innovative ideas. As we respect each other\u2019s differences, we must also seek out what unites us \u2013 using both to advance our community, our nation, and the world.”

“As you graduate today, you will go back out into the world \u2013 using the work of your minds and your hearts to make it a better place,\u201d she concluded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In his address, President Saliman encouraged graduates to take on the challenges that come their way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“You\u2019ve learned a lot during your time at CU, including that every path has obstacles,” President Saliman said. “Sometimes you\u2019ll overcome them and sometimes you won\u2019t. You won\u2019t always get the grade you want or the job of your dreams or the promotion you think you deserve. And if you\u2019re like me, you\u2019ll be bummed when things don\u2019t go as you\u2019d hoped or planned \u2013 for a little while, at least. But in these moments, I\u2019ve learned to pause, take a breath and reflect. I\u2019ve learned \u2013 and you will too, if you haven\u2019t already \u2013 that sometimes not achieving your goal is actually an amazing opportunity.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Consider your journey to this moment,” he continued. “When you didn\u2019t get the grade you wanted, did you give up? Or did you use that experience to drive you to do better, to reflect on your work, or your performance, or your approach and try again? On the other hand, it\u2019s easy to get lulled into a false sense of security when things seem to be going our way. But success doesn\u2019t always breed more success. Hard work, grit and a little luck ultimately lead to success. So, when things are going well, don\u2019t take your foot off the gas. Keep working. Keep striving.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ceremony included the recognition of 15 Silver Graduates, members of the Class of 1999 who celebrated 25 years since their own UCCS graduation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also celebrated were the students who received their Associate of General Studies degree after the University of Colorado Board of Regents approved the retroactive degree in April 2023. The degree is for those students who started at UCCS and earned at least 70 credits over the last 10 years but didn\u2019t complete their degree. It provides a path for students to receive a credential for work they have completed and improves these students\u2019 outcomes for employment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To close the ceremonies, Regent McNulty delivered the traditional Norlin Charge to graduates. The charge dates back to CU Boulder president George Norlin\u2019s delivery of the June 1935 Commencement ceremony. The words of the Norlin Charge are now read to the graduating class each year at each of the four CU campuses, as a reminder that graduates will carry their experiences at the university with them forever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCommencement does not mean, as many wrongly think, the breaking of ties and the beginning of life apart,\u201d reads the charge. \u201cRather, it marks your initiation in the fullest sense into the fellowship of the university, as bearers of her torch, as centers of her influence, as promoters of her spirit.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe university consists of all who come into and go forth from her halls, who are touched by her influence and who carry on her spirit. Wherever you go, the university goes with you. Wherever you are at work, there is the university at work.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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UCCS conferred nearly 1,000 degrees to students from the Class of 2024 on Friday, December 20, with nearly 500 graduates in attendance for the Fall 2024 Commencement ceremonies at the Broadmoor World Arena. (More)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":161071,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1,49,12],"tags":[42,51],"class_list":["post-161032","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all","category-campus-announcements","category-events","tag-commencement","tag-featured"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Communique-Featured-Image-1.png","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1mBpJ-FTi","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/161032","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=161032"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/161032\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":161072,"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/161032\/revisions\/161072"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/161071"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=161032"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=161032"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=161032"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}