St. Gregory’s University celebrated its 93rd commencement exercise Saturday inside W.P. Wood Field House, with bachelor’s degrees conferred on 86 graduates.
An additional 46 received associate’s degrees and 12 received master’s degrees.
Shirley Cox, legal services developer for the state Department of Human Services, delivered the commencement address, urging SGU graduates to discover their dreams, be passionate about what they do and do justice in their lives.
“I encourage you to reach into the deep recesses of your soul and find that passion, live that passion and love that passion,” said Cox, an active state advocate for those on the margins of society. “Inspire others to your passion and call them forth in their aspirations. If you do, I predict, you will emerge as extraordinary leaders in your own right.”
Cox compared the graduates’ walk across the stage to Lewis Carol’s “Through the Looking Glass,” the sequel to “Alice in Wonderland.” In that story, she said, Alice imagines herself climbing through a looking glass, a mirror, wondering what life would hold for her on the other side.
“As you sit in your seats now, you may well feel like Alice contemplating what is beyond the mirror, a world that is very familiar, yet very different,” she said. “As you wait your turn in line to receive your diploma, you may well feel like Alice as she summoned her courage to step across and into the world beyond.
“And as you step across the stage, you may well feel like Alice entering into the excitement, the thrill and the anticipation of a vibrant and beckoning experience.”
Valedictorians Zac Ottis and Melanie Jones also addressed the audience. Ottis, who is from Norman, was the valedictorian for the College of Arts and Sciences. Jones, from Wagoner, was the valedictorian for the College for Working Adults.
“My advice to you is to put your all into everything that you do,” Ottis said. “Find a job that makes you happy and that you enjoy doing. When you aren’t working, enjoy life. The past four years, if anything, have taught me how fragile life can be, so make sure that you enjoy every minute of it.”
Said Jones: “We have made sacrifices. We have endured. And we’re finally here as teammates. Congratulations.”
Baccalaureate Mass was Friday in St. Gregory’s Abbey Church. The Rev. Nicholas Ast, O.S.B., a history instructor at SGU, preached the homily. The SGU Chorale, under the direction of Br. Damian Whalen and music faculty member Sheryl Waters, provided music.
The following students received their associate’s degrees:
Bixby: Edie Dragoun
Broken Arrow: Stacy Haynes, Karla Kuhn, Robin Miller and Brenda Royal
Coweta: Brandi Marrs
Fort Worth, Texas: Emily Vaughn
Glenpool: Rhoda Adams and Steven Conway
McLoud: Brandi Sears
Mounds: Amanda Meyers
Oklahoma City: Jessica Landry-Gaters and Tracie Reagan
Okmulgee: Justin Binning
Rose: Ashley Chancellor
Shawnee: Joshua Clark, Melissa Dennis, Leroy Downs, Robert Gear, Gaila Hatler, Donald Heaps, Tedda Kerr, Elaine Maston, Rhonda Maston, Donna Mills, Toni Sellers, Gale Smith and Karen Southers
Tulsa: Derrick Cox, Maria Crescitelli, Christopher Davis, Shannon Hand, Lydia Jones, Kendra Knox, Victoria Lee, Denise Mills, Jeffrey Richardson and Jerome Smittle
Vera: April Buoy
Wagoner: Sherry Hansen and Erin Hester
Wanette: Darlene Lackey
International: Ivan Muziotti Parraga
The following students received their bachelor’s degrees:
Ada: Amanda Kelley
Bixby: Kip Honeycutt
Boley: Donna Parker
Broken Arrow: Seth Birch, Stephen Friend, Courtney Hambley, Karissa McMillan, Sonny Reynolds and Joseph Solomon
Brusly, La.: Hunter Langlois
Centerton, Ark.: William Beal
Claremore: Melanie Carrick
Collinsville: Diane Schultz
Denton, Texas: Loraine Bottorff
Earlsboro: Kimberly Harjo
Edmond: Glenn Dean, Driskill Sawyer and Clifford Wehrenberg
Fort Gibson: Nancy Wells
Harrah: Katrina Baez
Inola: Carolyn Parks
Jenks: Christopher Okey
Madison, Ala.: Dominique Garoute
Maud: Genieve Taylor
McLoud: Richard Bennett, Allie Fleischfresser and Marcel Stevens
Moore: Jose Zuniga
Mounds: Natasha Schartz
Mustang: Lana Tindall
Newalla: Jeffery Briggs and Cory Underhill
Noble: Natalie King and Lindsey Vanderburg
Norman: Paul Ottis
Okemah: Donna Magness and Randall Vaught
Oklahoma City: Joe Hughes, Ferrell Johns, Alexander Mansour, Amelia Patterson, Francisco Reyes and De’Shaun Thornton
Prague: Stacie Casey
Rego Park, N.Y.: Oren Mansky
San Luis, Ariz.: Jonah Carrera
Sand Springs: Martha Hoover
Sapulpa: Amanda Cox
Shawnee: Amy Carlile, Toni Christian, Elizabeth Cruz, Cha’son Holmes, Andrew Hubl, Amy Hunt, Clint Johnson, Mark Lahue, Samantha Pleets, Marcy Reeves, Jana Sexton, Patrick Simon, Emily Walsh and Lisa Zientek
Sparks: Shannon Saunders
Tecumseh: Charles Scott
The Colony, Texas: Andrew Oldham
Tulsa: Andrea Everage, Yvyonne Joseph, Grant Legg, Tanya McLaughlin, Toni Uden, Christopher Vail and Rosalyn Vann-Jackson
Wagoner: Melanie Jones, Kim Penick
Wanette: Lisa McDonald
Weleetka: Genise Carpenter
Yukon: Jessica Munson
International: Ronald Florez, Marjana Gojkovic and Carlos Quintero-Rodriguez
The following students received their master’s degrees:
Beggs: Dianne Bileck
Broken Arrow: Alan Buynak
Collinsville: Jason Perrin
Oklahoma City: Donny Beechum
Tulsa: John MacClain, Erin Michael, Ramona Miller, Samuel Roop, Kathleen Ryan-Fielder and Eric Wilson
International: Chrispin Ogama
