Spring Break
Graduation ceremonies open new chapters
Holly Chapman Contributing Writer
Issue date: 8/13/09 Section: NEWS
At least 35 members of Alexius Buckner's family will come from as far as New York and Alabama to attend her 9 a.m. graduation Saturday in the Coliseum. Buckner is graduating with a bachelor's in Criminal Justice and will participate in one of five ceremonies held on campus during the weekend.
She is among 61 doctoral, 600 master's and 1,412 undergraduate students who will be receiving degrees, said Connie Smith, registrar area supervisor.
"I wasn't going to do the graduation at all," Buckner said. "But it's a way to show that your college experience is coming to an end and a new chapter is opening."
Her family could be seated among as many as 10,000 to 12,000 people, Special Events Coordinator Laurea Dunahoe said.
"We're expecting a full house," she said.
Four of the five ceremonies will be held in the Coliseum, with President Gretchen Bataille and Provost Wendy Wilkins speaking at each. Members of UNT's Board of Regents will also speak, Dunahoe said.
The Doctoral Commencement and Hooding Ceremony begins at 7 p.m. Friday in the Murchison Performing Arts Center. The keynote speaker is Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, Maryland's first female lieutenant governor and daughter of the late U.S. Senator and Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy.
Viewers can watch each of the commencement ceremonies live at www.unt.edu/commencement.
She is among 61 doctoral, 600 master's and 1,412 undergraduate students who will be receiving degrees, said Connie Smith, registrar area supervisor.
"I wasn't going to do the graduation at all," Buckner said. "But it's a way to show that your college experience is coming to an end and a new chapter is opening."
Her family could be seated among as many as 10,000 to 12,000 people, Special Events Coordinator Laurea Dunahoe said.
"We're expecting a full house," she said.
Four of the five ceremonies will be held in the Coliseum, with President Gretchen Bataille and Provost Wendy Wilkins speaking at each. Members of UNT's Board of Regents will also speak, Dunahoe said.
The Doctoral Commencement and Hooding Ceremony begins at 7 p.m. Friday in the Murchison Performing Arts Center. The keynote speaker is Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, Maryland's first female lieutenant governor and daughter of the late U.S. Senator and Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy.
Viewers can watch each of the commencement ceremonies live at www.unt.edu/commencement.
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