Originally posted May 16, 2015
By Laura L. Acosta, Lisa Y. Garibay and Daniel Perez
UTEP News Service
Saturday was bittersweet for Raymond Turner, one of the more than 2,580 spring and summer graduation candidates who were eligible to participate in The University of Texas at El Paso’s Spring Commencement ceremonies at the Don Haskins Center on May 16, 2015.
Turner, an El Paso native and first-generation college student, earned his bachelor’s degree in geological sciences along with 800-plus other candidates during the evening ceremony for UTEP’s colleges of Science, Engineering and Health Sciences.
The University conducted two earlier ceremonies. Candidates from the College of Liberal Arts were recognized during the morning event, and those from the School of Nursing and colleges of Education and Business Administration were acknowledged in the afternoon.
Turner, who earned a Presidential Excellence Scholarship, was one of those students who got the most out of his time at UTEP serving in student organizations such as Omega Delta Phi, and earning slots in research missions including one that studied inactive volcanoes in Fiji in 2013.
Prior to the ceremony, his thoughts were of his late father who died in 2010 when he was a senior at Del Valle High School. He said they had talked about him earning a college degree, and today he kept his promise. The student had a painting of his father in his Army uniform and an American flag on his mortarboard.
Turner, who was accepted to UTEP’s graduate school and will begin his studies of geophysics in the fall, said the lack of an academic obligation made for a nerve-wracking day.
“I felt like I should be doing homework,” he said.
Turner and his peers were greeted by an estimated 8,800 family members and friends in the Haskins Center. They cheered loudly several times during the speech by University President Diana Natalicio, who spoke from a stage decorated with green plants and orange and blue ribbons.
President Natalicio talked about her pride in the graduates’ accomplishments that were achieved through tenacity, and the role UTEP played in transforming their future. She hoped this milestone would be a springboard to future success based on planning, preparation, perseverance and meaningful partnerships. She advised them to use their talents to do what they loved.
“Match your purpose to your work,” President Natalicio said. “Make career choices that enable you to leverage your special strengths, skills and passions in ways that allow you to both uniquely contribute to the world touched by your work life, and at the same time bring you deep satisfaction.”
Among those listening on the Haskins’ floor were Amanda Sepulveda and Aldo Vidaña.
Sepulveda, the banner bearer for the Graduate School, said she loved the University because of the amazing opportunities it provided her as a student, researcher and future clinician. She served in the Concussion Management Clinic and the Augmentation and Alternate Communication Lab, and earned the outstanding thesis award from the College of Health Sciences.
The Fabens, Texas, native received her Master of Science in speech-language pathology and is weighing several job offers. She plans to enroll in a doctoral program after gaining practical experience.
Vidaña, who earned his bachelor’s degree in metallurgical and materials engineering, is a native of Juárez, Mexico. The first-generation college student was an honors graduate from the College of Engineering and a member of several student organizations including the UTEP chapter of Tau Beta Pi, the engineering honor society.
“I realized that to get the most out of my college experience I had to give of myself,” said Vidaña, one of the college’s student marshals.
He leaves next week for Grenoble, France, to participate in an internship with CEA-Leti, a French research and technology organization. He plans to apply for UTEP’s Graduate School and earn a master’s in electrical engineering.
See photos from the 7 p.m. ceremony here.
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Newly minted UTEP graduate Rocio Mingura held on to her cap tightly as strong winds blew while she waited to enter the Don Haskins Center and collect her degree in operations and supply chain management from the College of Business Administration.
Mingura was one of 905 Miners from the School of Nursing and the colleges of Education and Business Administration who participated in The University of Texas at El Paso’s 2 p.m. Commencement ceremony on May 16. The ceremony also celebrated the conferral of more than 200 master’s degrees and 37 doctoral degrees.
Mingura decorated her motor board with the words, “As I Promised You. I (heart) you. Thanks, Dad,” in tribute to her father, Manuel Mingura, who died a year ago.
“I feel like this is a day that I couldn’t wait to get here, but now that it’s here, it feels bittersweet,” Mingura said in Spanish.
Claudia Sosa, an undergraduate from the College of Education, echoed Mingura’s sentiments. Sosa and her fellow classmates, Melody Smith and Arianna Rojas, described graduation day as surreal.
“The whole time you’re like, ‘Graduation is coming, graduation is coming,’ but then it never comes and finally it does and you think, ‘Is it really here?’” said Sosa, who plans to become an elementary school teacher. “What made it worthwhile at the end were my friends. You’re so focused on your education, but the interaction with your friends is the best part.”
For many graduates, the celebration started earlier in Memorial Gym as Miners danced to “Uptown Funk” by Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars and posed for pictures to capture their final moments with friends and classmates.
Steven Holguin took a selfie of himself wearing a flower lei made from orange Gerber daises and carnations that his Hawaiian aunt gave him.
“I remember getting into the (nursing) program, and now (graduation) is here,” said Holguin, who received a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) and planned to join the United States Air Force. “It’s an awesome feeling.”
Earning her BSN from the UTEP School of Nursing was a major milestone for Carolina Juarez and her 2-year-old son, Sam.
“I had my son right before I started my pre-nursing classes,” a beaming Juarez said. “I was motivated to finish (nursing school) to have a better life for the both of us. We did it together. I went through all of nursing school with baby Sam.”
Inside the Haskins Center, President Natalicio reminded graduates to never forget their roots.
“Never forget that you are a UTEP Miner,” she said. “Miners are tough, tenacious and punch above their weight. You rise above expectations, you’re confident but not brash or entitled, and you never take your opportunities for granted. You’ve worked hard to attain your educational goals, and didn’t permit others to define you or limit your potential as you developed the skills, acquired the knowledge, and honed the abilities needed to achieve your aspirations.”
See photos from the 2 p.m. ceremony here.
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Flashing lights, colorful flowers, messages of triumph and even sculptures adorned the caps of approximately 850 students who were eligible to cross the stage and receive their diplomas during the 9 a.m. ceremony from the College of Liberal Arts. The group included six doctoral, more than 150 master’s and nearly 700 bachelor’s degree recipients.
Cynthia Aguinaga, named outstanding Chicano studies minor, was full of pride to be representing both her university and her people. A criminal justice major graduating cum laude, Aguinaga is the first in her family to receive a college degree. She joined hundreds of other graduates who achieved this milestone of the American dream for their families.
Mark Sadler, who served as president of the UTEP theater club Playmakers, walked away with his degree specializing in theater tech, which he will apply to the new staging of “Viva El Paso!” this summer, followed by internships “out in the big world.”
Kelvin Hinkle received his master’s degree in leadership studies while working for the military, from which he recently retired after 32 years. He hopes to take his degree to a teaching job at a junior college while also pursuing his teaching certificate for middle school. Hinkle and fellow members of the military punctuated the meaning of Armed Forces Day May 16 when they were asked to stand for recognition during the ceremony.
A large number of students who worked part- or full-time throughout their schooling – many of whom had on-campus positions allowing them to gain valuable real-world work experience and “earn while they learn,” as President Natalicio said – were applauded loudly. Graduating parents and grandparents were also asked to stand during the ceremony, helping to demonstrate UTEP’s success in serving nontraditional students.
Scholarly excellence was spotlighted when graduates with grade point averages above 3.25 and recipients of academic scholarships were asked to stand for applause as well.
See photos from the 9 a.m. ceremony here.