SEMO makes changes to commencement to accommodate greater number of graduates

Southeast Missouri State University's campus bustled with this week as students moved between buildings on the last day of final exams for the spring semester. Some packed their bags, headed home for the summer. Others prepared for life beyond the university campus when they picked up their caps and gowns at the Wehking Alumni Center along Broadway. Of those, there were many.

"I've been here since 1, and I don't think I've sat down since," said Ryan Heslinga, a graduation specialist for the university's registrar's office, as he assisted soon-to-be graduates in the alumni center late Thursday afternoon.

The university will graduate its largest-ever number of students during Saturday's commencement. More than 1,300 will receive undergraduate and graduate degrees.

Julie Grueneberg, the university's assistant registrar who coordinates graduation, said around 1,100 students are expected to participate in the ceremony, set for 2 p.m. in the Show Me Center.

More students awaiting diplomas resulted in a few changes to the ceremony so that students and their guests will fit into the arena, Grueneberg said. The seating configuration was changed slightly to allow for more rows of students. Around 7,200 people, including students, can be present for the event. Students are asked to limit their number of guests to four during the ceremony. Overflow seating will also be available, where attendees can watch the ceremony on large-screen televisions inside the Show Me Center. Doors open at 12:30 p.m. and seats are first-come, first-served. Grueneberg said anyone who may need special accommodations due to a disability may want to arrive earlier and contact an usher for instructions.

Grueneberg said because of the number of students graduating that the ceremony time may extend by up to 15 minutes.

Gov. Jay Nixon will deliver the commencement speech.

An honors convocation will be held at 10:30 a.m. Saturday in the Show Me Center to recognize 373 undergraduates, 120 students receiving master's degrees and 16 students receiving specialist degrees, according to a university news release. English professor Dr. Susan Swartwout will give an address.

A commencement luncheon at noon in the student recreation center will honor six recipients of Young Alumni Merit Awards, which are awarded each year to alumni 37 years old and under for bringing distinction to the university through professional growth, service and individual character, according to a release.

This year's recipients include Karim Djerboa of Orlando, Fla., a freelance business consultant; Michael Dittrich of Columbia, Ill., assistant principal of Hancock Elementary in St. Louis; Brad Huesgen of Villa Ridge, Mo., a speech-language pathologist at Mercy Hospital in St. Louis; Marcus Stephens of Chicago, resident scenic designer at the Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival and member of the design faculty at The University of Notre Dame; Matthew Faigle of Arnold, Mo., a manufacturing process engineer with Capano & Associates Technical Engineering Systems in St. Louis; and Dr. Jason Alexander, a postdoctoral fellow in the Electro-Optics and Photonics Division of the U.S. Army Research Laboratory in Adelphi, Md.

eragan@semissourian.com

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