UW-Whitewater spring commencement ceremony to be held Saturday

Some 1,404 May and August graduates will receive their degrees during the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater’s spring commencement planned for Saturday. 

Recognizing achievements of students on the Whitewater campus, the commencement will be presented in two parts. 

According to information released by the university, the morning ceremony, which begins at 10 a.m., recognizes 613 undergraduate and 136 graduate students from the College of Arts and Communication, the College of Business and Economics and the School of Graduate Studies. 

The afternoon ceremony, which begins at 3 p.m., recognizes 504 undergraduate students and 144 graduate students from the College of Education and Professional Studies, the College of Integrated Studies, the College of Letters and Sciences, and the School of Graduate Studies. 

The ceremonies, which last approximately two hours each, will be held in the Kachel Fieldhouse at the Williams Center. 

Included in the graduates crossing the stage on Saturday will be 98 students who are veterans, nine international students and 180 nontraditional undergraduate students, defined as undergraduate students who are 25 years of age or older. In addition, 167 self-identified students with disabilities will receive degrees. Eight graduates of the university’s LIFE Program, which provides a complete college experience for young adults between the ages of 18-25 who have an intellectual disability, will cross the stage during the afternoon program — including four who are earning an advanced certificate, according to information released by the university.  

Rock County campus

The graduation ceremony for more than 95 College of Integrated Studies students at UW-Whitewater at Rock County will be held on Tuesday, May 16, at 6:30 p.m. in the gymnasium of the Wells Cultural Center. The commencement speaker is Robin Fox, an experienced administrator and respected scholar who is associate provost for academic affairs at UW-Whitewater. The student speaker is Natalie Shortreed, a liberal arts major from Janesville who is continuing her studies in environmental sciences on the Whitewater campus. During the ceremony, the Outstanding Alumni Award will be presented to John Ramsdell, who used the closure of Lear Seating in Janesville to pursue his twin passions of science and education. After earning an associate degree at the Rock County campus in 2010,  he graduated summa cum laude from the Whitewater campus in 2012 with a Bachelor of Science in Education in general education and a general science minor. Today, he is a science and English teacher at Marshall Middle School. The Excellence in Teaching Awards and the faculty and staff who are retiring will also be announced at the ceremony, the release noted.  

Speakers

The commencement speaker for both ceremonies on the Whitewater campus is Mike Domitrz. Domitrz, who earned a BBA in business in 1993, is a world-renowned speaker and the founder of Center for Respect, an organization with a mission to prevent sexual assaults and encourage safe dating.

The student speaker for the morning ceremony is Hollyn Peterson. Peterson, who is earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts with a painting emphasis, is a three-time cancer survivor who has overcome life-threatening obstacles in her formative years and is now flourishing as a young adult with big dreams. 

The student speaker for the afternoon ceremony is Davin Stravroplos. Stavroplos, who is earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and served as student body president, will share his inspiring story of how taking steps outside of his comfort zone have led to his personal and professional pursuits.

The commencement ceremonies on the Whitewater campus will be broadcast live online by UWW-TV, the university television station.

Local grads 

A list of students graduating Saturday from the Whitewater campus who live within the communities of Fort Atkinson, Jefferson, Lake Mills and Whitewater, follows. 

College of Arts and Communication, receiving bachelor degrees: 

Fort Atkinson

Hannah Rae Dotzler 

Jacob P. McKenney 

Amy M. Nandory 

Matt Romens 

Lake Mills 

Ian D. Behling

Isaac S. Behling 

Corey A. Ferris 

Whitewater

Rosemary Abplanalp

Keira Kuhnke 

Haley Ann Lager

Alex J. Majmudar

Meaghan Nicole O’Hara 

Trajen Amir Siller

Catherine Mia Yang

College of Business and Economics, receiving bachelor degrees: 

Fort Atkinson 

Jacquelyn M. Jensen 

Bennett Glen Wiedenhoeft

Jefferson 

Samuel Michael McClure 

Mitchell F. Vogel 

Joseph Alan Young 

Lake Mills 

Stephanie E. Behm 

Harper Jason Untz 

Whitewater 

Kaylie Rae Ault

Grace Ann Belz

Joshua B. Bezzo

William J. Blue

Jacob Hunter Burford 

Samuel Champeau 

Ariana L. Christianson, 

Ivan Cortez,

Justin J. Cox

Grace Olivia Dellinger

Michael Joseph Dryer

Brendan K. Ellefson

Hailey Marie Ellis 

Brad Greish

Ralph Jordan Hahn

Drew Hebbe

Emma A. Hendricks

Tyler J. Hentrich 

Natalie Ann Hummelt 

Ethan Hunter Krouse

Cora Ann Laatz

Ryan Mantz 

David Russell McNeilly

Miriam Navejas

Ryan O’Connor 

Daniel P. O’Malley 

Bryce Emmett Parrish 

Lauren Ann Power

Corey J. Puttkamer 

Sean R. Quinn

Zach Reimann

Alyssa Jayde Riley

Jacob R. Sadler 

Kasey L. Schlicht

Brett Michael

Lukas Scott Schreiber 

Zander Schultz

Alex Sheriff

Colten A. Stoppleworth 

Adam Hasan Tarbah

Mary Teumer

Michala Martinez Topp 

Sage Thomas Tranel

Ashley Lynn Vorndran 

Abigail Lorraine Wicker

LuAnnabelle Clare Wieseman 

College of Education and Professional Studies, receiving bachelor degrees: 

Fort Atkinson 

Sara Rose Dale

Heather Hoefler

Rachel Krueger

Joseph Douglas Torrisi 

Jefferson 

Megan LouAnn Gleisner 

Emely Tovar 

Emilee Inez Truman 

Whitewater 

Michael A. Coates

Madison Hawkins

Sedric Harmond Morris

College of Integrated Studies, receiving bachelor degrees: 

Whitewater

Amy E. Moore

College of Letters and Sciences, receiving bachelor degrees:  

Fort Atkinson 

Kirsten A. Bishop 

Shelby Paige Drake 

Sara Anne Foerster 

Lilly E. Newbury 

Shalon Scheeler 

Joseph Yang

Jefferson 

Jeton Dehari 

Angela Frances Hayes 

Kayla Morgan Laures 

Heather Michelle Makkos

Carson William Seeber

Lake Mills 

Sara Atwater 

Kelsey Bleu Hibbard 

Emily Katherine Straube 

Katherine Mae Wozniak 

Whitewater 

Alex A. Abplanalp

Asobo Nkeng Afah Annah

Gavin Murad Allamian

David Michael Amero

Elizabeth Breann Ascherl 

Madeline May Born 

Montserrat Cuevas 

Joshua Esparza

Kierra F. M. Hayes

Margaret Elizabeth Helbig

Chyna Renee Hill-Scanlan

Zoe Rose Horant 

Allen Kaplan

Emma Ann Keaser 

Felicity Rose Knabenbauer

Kathryn Kyriazopoulos

Anthony M. LaPoint

Grace Lara

Taylor Louise Moore

Amber Cassity Mussey 

Paige Sparrow Niman

John Michael Pettey

Charlie Reddemann

Kaylie Grace Rickgauer 

Connor J. Rohde

Olivia Schroeder

Davin Robert Stavroplos

Emma Daley Tubbs

Hunter Wade

Tayler McKenzie Walter

Haiying Yang

Jonathan Zheng 

Students receiving a master’s degree in business administration: 

Whitewater 

Glory Wopong Fomba

Salmai Valadez

Students receiving a master’s degree in computer science: 

Whitewater

David Harry Brodel 

Students receiving a master’s degree in counseling:  

Fort Atkinson 

Kristina Anne Fowler 

Whitewater

Thomas Eduardo Garcia

Abigail Catherine Much

Molly Grace Schwieger

Students receiving a master’s degree in education, professional studies: 

Lake Mills 

Ethan James Floerke 

Students receiving a master’s degree in school psychology: 

Lake Mills 

Loni A. Kopp 

Students receiving a master’s degree in social work: 

Whitewater 

Molly Brynn Burger

Aleyah Chantel Coleman

Breanna Grace Kearney

Cody John Lang

Darian Alfonzo Mims-Belnavis 

Malayna Patricia Oswald

Students receiving an associate of arts degree: 

Whitewater 

Dylan DuClos

The full UW-Whitewater spring commencement program is here: http://fortatkinsononline.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/httpswww.uww_.edudocumentscommencementUW-Whitewater_Commencement_May_2023.pdf.