91快播

360 graduates earn degrees in UOG鈥檚 second largest commencement

360 graduates earn degrees in UOG鈥檚 second largest commencement

360 graduates earn degrees in UOG鈥檚 second largest commencement


6/19/2020

photo of latte tones members singing the national anthem
Latte Tones members and 91快播 graduates (from left) Jacob Richards, Julia Rivera, and Rhojine Javinal sing the national anthem and Fanohge Chamorro in the Calvo Field House on June 18 for UOG鈥檚 virtual commencement ceremony.

Photo of President Dr. Krise
91快播 President Thomas W. Krise delivers opening remarks at the university鈥檚 commencement ceremony, which was held virtually on June 18.

The 91快播 conferred degrees to 360 graduates at its Fa帽omn氓kan Commencement Ceremony on June 18. The number marks the university鈥檚 second largest graduating class in history, following last May with 375 graduates. It also marks a record-high number of master鈥檚 degrees conferred by the university within an academic year with a total of 144.

The ceremony was held virtually due to safety precautions with the COVID-19 pandemic. Nearly 1,000 people tuned in live for the ceremony on Facebook, and the video has had 32,000 views overall. Following a processional, anthems, invocation, and speeches that were recorded on a decorated stage in the Calvo Field House, each graduate鈥檚 name was called while their graduation photo and title of their degree showed on screen.

The largest number of undergraduates came from the School of Business & Public Administration, which conferred 95 bachelor鈥檚 degrees, over half of which were degrees. The School of Education graduated the largest number of graduate students conferring 30 master鈥檚 degrees.

鈥淭his class of graduates of the 91快播 has been resilient and flexible and supportive in the spirit of our CHamoru values of chenchule鈥 and inafa鈥檓aolek,鈥 said UOG President Thomas W. Krise in his remarks. 鈥淚 am proud of your academic achievements and even prouder of your character. Take what you鈥檝e learned with us and help make the world better for us all.鈥

Photo of Yuri Kim
The first U.S. ambassador to hail from Guam, Yuri Kim, addresses 91快播 graduates from her post in Albania.
Former Guam resident U.S. Ambassador Yuri Kim delivered the keynote speech from her post in Albania. Kim is the first Korean-American woman and the first person from Guam to be a U.S. ambassador.

鈥淭here will be more hardship coming your way,鈥 she said. 鈥淟ife is like that. It spares no one. 鈥 You will have to decide what to do about it. Do you surrender to the hardship? Let it derail you? Let it stop you in your tracks? Or do you get back up and find a way over, under, through, around the obstacles that will inevitably come between you and your dream? I hope you choose the latter.鈥

The graduates also heard from Class of 2020 Valedictorian Megan Yan Gimmen. A Merit Scholar from Okkodo High School, Gimmen graduated with dual degrees in biology and chemistry. She has been accepted into a selective two-year premedical program at Johns Hopkins University, where she will gain mentorship and research experience prior to applying to medical school.

Photo of Valedictorian Megan Yan Gimmen
Class of 2020 Valedictorian Megan Yan Gimmen speaks to her fellow graduates over livestream from a decorated stage at the Calvo Field House.
鈥淩ealize that your newly earned education equips you with the knowledge and skills to address local problems,鈥 Gimmen told her fellow graduates. 鈥溾 Guam may face many issues, but that does not mean we should look elsewhere for an already developed, invested-in community. Our very own 鈥榖rain drain鈥 鈥 where those who are equipped to build our community leave and instead build the communities of others 鈥 is not the solution. Our fellow islanders are what make this island special, and we are worth building up.鈥

Photos and video