LEAVENWORTH, Kan. (May 28, 2015) - The University of Saint Mary celebrated the close of another academic year and marked a major milestone both for the university and its individual graduates at the Saint Mary 2015 Commencement Ceremony on May 9.
The 2015 commencement event honored the university's 400+ graduates-a group composed of over 200 undergraduate degree recipients, more than 160 master's degree recipients, and about 40 doctorate recipients.
This year's graduates hailed from Kansas to California, from Scotland to Nigeria. The presence of many online learners that day also lent the festivities a distinctly national flavor. And the graduation of the 37 Stefani Doctor of Physical Therapy program students marked a major milestone in Saint Mary history-the culmination of an important journey USM undertook years ago to launch its first doctorate program.
At the event, USM President Sister Diane Steele, Ph.D., praised the graduates' accomplishments. "We pray now that with a Saint Mary education that you recognize and treasure the good and the beautiful, that you will seek truth and aim to live justly, and that you have come to see the glory of God in all that surrounds you, particularly in the faces of those that you encounter," she told the crowd.
Those graduating from the Quad Cities area include Damian Papish of Bettendorf receiving a Master of Business Administration degree and Elizabeth Wilkens of Davenport receiving her Doctorate of Physical Therapy.
USM student speakers presented the day's commencement addresses through reflections on their Saint Mary experiences.
"I was offered an opportunity to become a student at a university that prides itself on academic standards... a university that helps lead us on the path to becoming leaders in society," said graduating senior Cade Brummer, an English major from Lancaster, Calif. "USM is a tightly-knit community, one that is accepting and open to all people, one that makes every moment spent here enjoyable."
The members of the Saint Mary graduating class of 2015 arrived at USM from a wide variety of backgrounds and are bound for an equally diverse range of bright futures. In reaching their God-given potential, USM's graduates have overcome obstacles of all kinds.
The University of Saint Mary is a Catholic co-educational applied liberal arts university founded and sponsored by the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth. The University of Saint Mary main campus is located at 4100 South 4th Street, Leavenworth, Kan. USM's Overland Park, Campus near 115th and Pflumm offers evening, accelerated graduate and undergraduate degree-completion programs. The university also offers online programs. Visit www.stmary.edu for more information.
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