UCO Virtual Commencement, Fall 2020: College of Business
hey everybody this is graham colton just wanted to say congratulations to all the graduates and best wishes hi this is kelly o'hara i'm from edmond oklahoma i drove by the university of central oklahoma almost every day of my life i want to talk to you graduates i know this is not what you ever expected or what you ever planned or dreamed of or hoped for but it is your reality and it is your story and you have lived through it and you've succeeded through it and you will tell this story forever this is the year that you succeeded through adversity so take the bull by the horns celebrate yourself celebrate your hard work and celebrate the fact that you're flexible and go into this world and kick some butt congratulations graduates congratulations 2020 graduates you did it you're now uco alumni now i know that today's ceremony isn't everything that you hoped that it would be but you can say one thing you've done something that almost no ucl alumni have done you've graduated during a pandemic and i want to congratulate you on all of the hard work effort and commitment that you've put in to make it to today we're all so proud of you best wishes for all of the next steps in your future hello all my uco graduates matthew morrison here i just wanted to check in and say congratulations for graduating what an honor what a privilege what hard work and dedication that you put into your education into your craft and i am very very proud of you this graduation probably doesn't seem like it like you imagined it would but i think this is a great opportunity in our culture in our lives i feel like it's a clean slate this is the beginning of a new revolution a new revolution of art and vibrancy and i think you're the future so show us what you can do excited to see it congratulations over the last 40 years of working in the music industry i've met lots of amazingly talented musicians and rock stars they're all dedicated to their craft just like this graduating class has been you're dedicated to achieving your goal of graduating through hard work and frankly struggling through 2020. watching all of you working at acm i know that you truly are the rock stars congratulations i'm wayne from the band of flaming lips and i'm just saying hey a wonderful job um in an extraordinary strange challenging year um i think uh you guys have all uh showed us the way showed us what a great and you've been a great inspiration to us to just keep working through it and staying optimistic and staying positive and here you are you're graduating so congratulations congratulations you finally did it i know it wasn't difficult but you got through it yay we love you thank you for working so hard i'm glad i could be part of your your strange uh graduation but um and how else would i be there so anyway thank you for having me good luck thank you for all your hard work um go out there and change the world make it a better place make it a funner place make it a more um optimistic place make it a more loving place out there i look forward to seeing you okay bye thanks hi i'm david holt the mayor of oklahoma city and i send my warmest congratulations to the all 2020 graduates of the university of central oklahoma obviously this is not how you expected your commencement to go this year but you are graduating in a very unique time you know that and you're going to long remember this completion to your educational journey i'm very proud of you oklahoma city is very proud of you we hope that as you move into this next chapter you will make your life here we hope you will carve out time to be civically engaged your professional career is important your family is even more important but try to part have a little bit of a little part of your life that is focused on the civic life of this city we are uh continuing to grow by leaps and bounds here in oklahoma city and we want to continue that momentum and we can't do it without you so i hope you will consider that as well as you move into this next chapter again we're proud of you congratulations job well ladies and gentlemen it is our sincere pleasure to welcome you to the university of central oklahoma fall 2020 commencement ceremony i'm charlotte simmons and i am gary steward we are the co-interim vice presidents for academic affairs at uco thank you for joining us virtually to honor our graduates and those who have supported them during their journey to this milestone event families and friends of the graduates those of us at uco could not be more pleased that you have joined us the entire uco community welcomes you to this event and we share your pride for the accomplishments of these students uco's president is tasked with providing the vision and the direction for our institution she embodies the tradition and strengths of our institution through the many leadership skills she brings to the job in a few moments you will hear comments from the 21st president of the university of central oklahoma patty newhold ravikumar we would also like to take a moment to introduce some of our colleagues who represent the key leaders of our campus and impact its daily operations the president's cabinet includes dianne feinberg vice president for people and culture kevin freeman vice president for finance and operations vice president for advancement is ann holds berlin christopher lynch is the vice president for enrollment and student success vice president for communications and public affairs is adrian nobles and kendall parish serves as our general counsel sonia watkins is the chief information officer for information technology and please allow me to introduce our deans dr gloria cadell interim dean college of mathematics and science dr donna cobb dean college of education and professional studies dr jeremy aller interim dean college of business dr janetta sims dean jackson college of graduate studies and the university college dr catherine webster dean of the college of liberal arts and charlene weidel interim dean the college of fine arts and design we would also like to recognize our faculty senate president dr jennifer barger johnson as well as our student association president mr james limbaugh and finally we would like to take a moment to note that particularly during these past two semesters that have presented them with unforeseen and unprecedented challenges in adjusting instructional modalities to a virtual environment amidst a pandemic uco exists and succeeds because of its talented and dedicated faculty faculty please accept our gratitude for your contributions to student success supporting faculty as they help students learn and coordinating all of the details necessary to make this happen are our department chairs and deans department chairs and deans we thank you for all you do on behalf of students and faculty president newhold ravikamar on behalf of the office of academic affairs these fall 2020 graduates including all candidates for all degrees have been recommended by the faculty of the university of central oklahoma to receive their degrees we recommend to you that subject to the satisfaction of all obligations to the university their degrees as listed in the printed program be conferred in the words of robert kennedy there are those who look at things the way they are and ask why i dream of things that never were and ask why not we charge all of our fall 2020 graduates to continue to strive to be in the latter group ladies and gentlemen we hope that you will help us congratulate and celebrate our fall 2020 graduates hello i'm susan winchester president for the regents of the regional university system of oklahoma the system that encompasses u-c-o it's truly an honor to be with you today and to celebrate with you and your families on this very special occasion i always look forward to the graduation ceremonies i love waiting outside the auditorium with you i love seeing your excitement and your enthusiasm as you walk in but probably most of all i enjoy the excitement enthusiasm of your family your parents your grandparents your children your friends as you walk across the stage to receive that diploma obviously today is a little different i'm not there with you in person but today i along with my eight fellow regents extend our congratulations to each of you and wish you the very best on your new journey our world has changed in how people work study interact and think about their future you've worked hard and finished your degree right as the world abruptly changed but i like to think of these changes as challenges challenges to overcome challenges to make a difference challenges to create a better outcome and you've done just that you met the challenges and turned each of those into an opportunity through all of this you've modeled one of the most important characteristics that will ensure your future success the ability to adapt to changing circumstance because of this i find great hope in your resilience and in your accomplishments and in what we're celebrating today uco is putting forward capable smart and curious professionals into a world at a time when we need you the most the world ahead has countless possibilities for you and i know the perseverance and tenacity that you've shown by obtaining your degree there is absolutely nothing you cannot achieve as you graduate today i again extend my congratulations along with those of the other regents and wish you the very best on this journey going forward thank you so much for letting me be with you today go forward and god bless thank you for joining us online today for our fall virtual commencement over the past year you've experienced a rare and life-changing event due to covet 19. each generation has its defining moments and this undoubtedly will become one of yours i can tell you that this event has definitely become one of ours you've been challenged to stay focused make tough decisions adapt quickly and think beyond your present circumstances to meet your future this year has been a complex exercise in applying what we hope you've learned during your time here covet 19 may have cut short your final moments on campus with your teachers friends and traditions but nothing can steal away the fact that you've earned your college degree we are immensely proud of your resilience and persistence today marks a milestone we welcome a new generation of broncos to the long legacy of graduates from the state's first higher education institution you are joining an elite group of educated citizens of the world who have earned a college degree this is a significant moment for you your family the university and society our faculty and staff have dedicated themselves to nurturing your potential and creating opportunities for your development they taught counseled advised and listened to you many of our campus community are watching the ceremony with you today because we have been personally invested in your success but your success was also uplifted by the support you received from friends and family as you worked toward this moment graduates i encourage you to look back at your academic journey and acknowledge the people in your life who have made this day possible for you their patience support and encouragement ran parallel to your efforts these gifts are artifacts of their belief in you i'm excited for you because today you will transition from a journey designed for you to begin another of your own making your restlessness your hope for a better future or you're answering the call to something different may have brought you to the university this refusal to accept what is is a choice to move toward what could be often in commencement addresses you hear about the how the world will change in the coming decade about how college prepares you for jobs of the future well the world you're about to enter has been fundamentally reshaped by the global pandemic in just nine months that's all it took to disrupt deregulate modernize and reinvent everything from health care to retail to education as a student your education was put to the test in the blink of an eye as educators we got to see firsthand how you applied what you learned to this new reality organizations and businesses have had to face the fact that they may not have had employees who majored in the global forces of unimaginable change but they needed the employees they had to shift create and think critically in an instant and that's where your uco education comes in the traits they hoped you would have a year ago are essential today organizations are going to expect you to be flexible when there's no promise of tomorrow they want to know if they can count on you your willingness to embrace uncertainty and bend with the winds of change is what creates a tomorrow employers are going to count on your ability to deftly interact with technology you've grown up with the internet and instant communication in your pocket everything at your fingertips and on demand i mean there's an app for that right you'll need to be perpetual first adopters to demonstrate the heart of an explorer your willingness and ability to adapt quickly to changing circumstances will be an essential skill for navigating your future the economy ebbs and flows with time ups and downs have been weathered throughout history yet never in history has a pandemic impacted the entire globe at once with the expansive and pervasive nature of this virus what you know for sure today may change completely tomorrow if the pandemic has highlighted anything it has shown us the importance of placing the greater good above yourself as a result of covet 19 many in the world have awakened to the reality that we are all connected our livelihoods our supply chains our food resources are all dependent on another industry or person to feed into or distribute goods and services the world has been forced to ideate a win-win scenario as a means of survival you have been part of a campus community that has implemented an other's first mentality at uco we've worn masks for each other we've raised money for charity we've marched together for racial equality we gave time to serve our community and we've done this because we put the greater good ahead of ourselves each of you have put these traits into practice and shown tremendous audacity as you've completed your degree the class of 2020 will forever be known as the group who graduated the year the world changed you are stepping into a world in which we all are adoptive citizens our job has been to pass on knowledge to give you a firm foundation create learning experiences that allow you to exercise that knowledge and design challenges that empower you to develop good judgment about using that knowledge what we could not do for you was to give you a desire to learn your desire to learn had to come from within you as it always must we provided the opportunities for you to learn and grow as well as the support for you to persist because we believed in you i know that you having accepted the challenge and value of education in your life leave here transformed in deeply meaningful ways ways you may not fully discover for years to come you came to us as the person who imagined a better future for yourself and your family you are leaving us as the person who has been transformed and has the opportunity to apply what you've learned to make the lives of those around you better and although you are now a graduate i encourage you to always remain a student now go show the world what it means to be a bronco thank you so foreign cross the plains converging westward seeking hope anew settling here to found our college strength and hope pursue come for learning come for growing central is our view you see all our alma mater honor bronze and blue harrison scott abney austin tyler absher colin david adney melissa aldaba aguilera nicholas key andrews caitlin a angleton [ __ ] laude natasha c avant abdulaziz mohammed babar dylan drake ball mart gentry barclay sagar basnet garrett michael beyer mason belcher jalen bennett srivan kadeshwar bodhapati tyler m bowers alexandra michelle bricky jimmy floyd brown ebanks crawford blaine buchanan tamara m burton summa [ __ ] laude alexander keats calhoun [ __ ] laude cody james climber brielle carton [ __ ] laude emily nicole collins joshua lee kraft cereas renee cruz andrew blakely cummings evan l davidson kelsey n dawson cynthia de jorta stephen grant dellinger [ __ ] laude jorge el dominguez manjares magna [ __ ] laude cameron daniel reynolds eagle walid el asili austin dale elliott stephen c england jordan daniel faulkner craig fletcher magna [ __ ] laude samuel jarrod michael freeman jessie lee gamboa chandler scott garrett john garrett gilbreth michael wood gilchrist tyler ray golden caitlin graybill amber griffin jennifer r griffith lindsay l gudenraff christopher s guillory caleb allen guttel nathan dwight haley jordan hawkins joshua r hendershot kinsey slagel henderson morgan hendrickson magaly hernandez jessica a hodges nicholas john hornbuckle zoe taylor mack howard britney rochelle hunter tanga yen win blake newton ivy jared m jackson dylan james jarvis kirby cole job merritt e g johnson felicia kessler casey melton killborn ji young julie kim peyton nell katie lawson natalie elizabeth lawson nina lee omar leiha leanne marie littlejohn zuma [ __ ] laude maria del rosario luera fabiola lopez osmato lupercio evan jeannette lewton billy d madewell rebecca reynolds michael maslin kenneth cody mcadoo kendra mcallister cambrie mcgrory connor k mcpherson joshua lee mercer b.j malkton ashley moore sarah e mueller alex nelson lindsay nguyen zuma [ __ ] laude juan knee caitlyn noelani nicholas caleb james nichols bobby elizabeth peden tanya marie palermo rosaline thassen parr catherine para reyes key pasha neil patel akshay reddy penaka anthony tran pham michelle l phillips dawson pope mackenzie posey osborne um valerie rose powell heather marie powers logan rasp bradley ray kyle redman emily m reece zuma [ __ ] laude alec h reed jade maria riojas kiera to sean robinson carlos alberto rodriguez diaz dawson rogers matt rowley muhammad j safi nicole saltas lloyd a sanderson dakota waylon savage george farmer shaffer bryson luke schumann mallory monique seidlitz juan muhammad aiden shaw david michael sharpe kane wesley shaw joshua graham schumic shayden smith delaney ann spitz summa [ __ ] laude caleb standridge scout stanley magna [ __ ] laude larry morris stewart jr rachel brienne stone ashley karen stott dylan strackey catelyn price stewart zachary william stultz nintu rose sunny william blake sutton noah riley twos jordan lindsey thomas dalton james tillerson thomas andrew tony day miriam turay alex tritton andrew thomas unra babar h usman odalus vias herrera magna [ __ ] laude hannah elise eichenberg stephanie walker dylan warnicky jessica welch alison suzanne weller dylan j wells brandon michael widman tyler lee williams corbin gentry weimer kenneth wilmer yoder graduates i invite you to stand now as your degree is conferred upon you upon the recommendation of the faculty and subject to the satisfaction of all obligations to the university by the authority vested in me by the oklahoma state regents for higher education and the board of regents of the regional university system of oklahoma it is my pleasure to confer upon you the appropriate certificate and degree with all the rights ranks privileges and responsibilities such a degree carries among scholars you may now move your tassels congratulations so so you
2020-12-19 03:49
