MERCED - The Class of 2007 is getting ready for its big moment.
University of California, Merced’s second commencement ceremony
will feature California’s Lt. Gov., John Garamendi, Sr., offering
the keynote address and new Chancellor Steve Kang presiding over
the ceremony.
“John Garamendi, Sr., has inspired the UC Merced campus
community and friends of the university since he served as the
founding chairman of the UC Merced Foundation Board of Trustees,”
said Chancellor Steve Kang. “Now, to our delight, our graduates and
their families will get the same chance to be inspired by this
longtime supporter of our campus. It’s a great honor to have Lt.
Gov. Garamendi address our commencement.”
This year, the ceremony starts at 9 a.m. Friday, May 18, on the
quad between the library and the Classroom and Science &
Engineering buildings.
The outdoor ceremony should accommodate faculty, staff and
students and their families, even though this year’s graduating
class is more than 20 times larger than last year’s! This year, UC
Merced has about 75 grads. Last year’s commencement had three.
As the ceremony ends, the Class of 2007 will walk across the
Scholars Lane Bridge to the post-graduation reception, signifying
that they’ve come full circle. The walk is opposite the one they
took as pioneer students on the campus’s opening day in September 2005.
The Audition Committee, made up of four graduating seniors and
four faculty or staff members, has chosen a student to present a
speech with this year’s theme: “We came to make history; we leave
having changed our own.”
Josh Bolin, a world cultures and history major, has been chosen
to deliver the student speech. He’s a member of the Student
Government Advisory Committee; serves as chief justice of the ASUCM
Court; is director of professional development for the Rotaract
club; works as a peer tutor; was a resident assistant in on-campus
housing; and served as a student ambassador.
Before all the graduates’ tassels are turned, the Class of 2007
will present its gift to the university, a statue of the mascot,
the Golden Bobcat.
“In his two years at UC Merced, Josh Bolin has been an active
student leader inside and outside of class and on and off campus,”
said Jane Lawrence, vice chancellor for student affairs. “In
addition to community service with Roteract and Circle K, Josh has
been a resident assistant, a leader in student government, and a
student ambassador for the Transfer Student Association. He leaves
behind a legacy of service to the university and the community.”
