Graduates receive degrees
Undergraduate and graduate ceremonies held
Nearly 1,000 students received degrees from California Lutheran University on Saturday, May 17.
During the 10:30 a.m. Undergraduate Commencement Ceremony, U.S. Rep. Lois Capps expressed her confidence that the 592 students receiving bachelor’s degrees can help change the world for the better.
“I look out at you today with a great sense of optimism and hope, knowing that you are the generation who hold, in your hands and in your hearts, in your intellect and in your ingenuity, the answers to a future where we will all learn to live more carefully upon this earth and with greater compassion for each other,” Capps said in her commencement address.
Don Conley, the 2008 Adult Degree Evening Program speaker, urged his fellow graduates to savor the journey life takes them on and shared the events that brought him to CLU. He received a lifesaving transplant of a heart that came from 17-year-old Ryan Bohacek, who was killed in a car accident.
“I decided that since I never finished college and Ryan never had the opportunity to go that the two of us would get a degree together,” Conley said. “Today I celebrate the fulfillment of that promise.”
Moorpark College President Eva Conrad gave the commencement address at the 2 p.m. Graduate Commencement Ceremony honoring the 383 students receiving master’s degrees and the eight candidates for doctoral degrees.
Francine Sprigel, who received a master’s in public policy and administration, and Lauren Looker, who received a doctorate in educational leadership, also spoke at the graduate ceremony.
President Chris Kimball gave the concluding remarks at both commencements.
“We wish you meaningful lives as engaged citizens,” Kimball said. “Go forward safely and may God bless you always.”
To see a gallery of photos from the commencement ceremonies, visit http://www.callutheran.edu/commencement/.