BGSU to hold commencement May 4, 5

BOWLING GREEN, O.—Bowling Green State University will celebrate its 273rd graduation in three ceremonies in the Stroh Center on Friday, May 4, and Saturday, May 5. The total number of diplomas being awarded is 2,026, including 383 degrees granted through the Graduate College.

Commencement exercises for the Graduate College and the colleges of Health and Human Services, Musical Arts, and Technology will begin at 7 p.m. May 4.

BGSU Firelands will also hold commencement on Friday, beginning at 7:30 p.m. in the Cedar Point Center. Giving the commencement address will be former BGSU trustee Bob Sebo, a 1958 graduate of BGSU and major benefactor of the University. Sebo is the retired senior vice president for Paychex Inc., of Rochester, N.Y.

Celebrating commencement at 9:30 a.m. May 5 will be the College of Arts and Sciences. Commencement for the colleges of Business Administration and Education and Human Development will begin at 3 p.m.

Aaron Dworkin will address graduate degree candidates at the Friday commencement. Named a 2005 MacArthur Fellow, Dworkin is the founder and president of the Sphinx Organization, the leading national arts organization focusing on youth development and diversity in classical music. He is a former member of the Obama National Arts Policy Committee and President Obama’s first appointee to the National Council on the Arts. An author, social entrepreneur, and avid youth education advocate, he has received extensive national recognition.

Speaking at the College of Health and Human Services ceremony will be Sara Predieri of Sunbury, Ohio, a candidate for a bachelor of science degree in Social Work and a bachelor of arts degree in Spanish. She is an Honors student with a 3.98 GPA and completed an honors project called “A Student’s Guide to Studying Abroad in Spain” based on her stay in Alcala, Spain, as a sophomore. Predieri has been president of the Student Organization of Social Workers for the last two years. She completed over 150 hours of volunteer work at social service agencies.

Heidi Wagner of Defiance, Ohio, a bachelor of science in technology degree candidate with a major in construction management technology, will address the College of Technology. She has had internships with Western Summit Constructors, Inc., MacPherson Architects, and Habitat for Humanity of Defiance County. She has been president of the College of Technology Ambassadors and an American Institute of Architecture Students representative for the Freedom By Design program. Wagner has accepted a job offer with Western Summit Constructors, Inc., and plans to work across the country in the water and wastewater construction industry.

College of Arts and Sciences speaker Brad Woznicki of Perrysburg, Ohio, is graduating cum laude as a bachelor of arts degree candidate with a telecommunications major and journalism minor. Woznicki has served as general manager of WBGU-FM, as a sideline reporter for BGSU basketball, member and sports anchor with BG24 News, president of the TCOM Student Association, and as a sports photographer for the BG News.  His achievements have been recognized through the Telecommunications Outstanding Senior Award 2011-12, WBGU-FM Talent Award 2011, BGSU Outstanding Freshman Award 2008-09, and BG24 News Best Sports Photographer Award 2008.

Skyler Rogers will be the College of Business Administration speaker. Rogers is graduating cum laude and with University Honors with a BSBA in Marketing and a minor in Entrepreneurship. A former Undergraduate Student Trustee, he was instrumental in the creation of the BGSU Net Impact chapter, which uses a business framework to solve social and environmental problems. He was the curator of the sold-out TEDxBGSU, the first of its kind in Ohio. As a Stuart R. Givens Fellow he traveled to India and Kenya to work closely with practitioners of sustainably minded poverty alleviation.

College of Education and Human Development speaker Ryan Leone of Mentor, Ohio, is a bachelor of science in education and human development degree candidate with a major in dietetics. For the last eight years, he has been in the U.S. Army Reserve and has served one tour of duty in Iraq. In addition to being a certified Combat Lifesaver, he has been awarded four Army medals. He is a member of Team in Training, an endurance sport training group dedicated to fundraising for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Leone plans to pursue a career in sports nutrition.

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(Posted April 26, 2012 )