CLU's 50th commencement set for May 18

Member of 2nd graduating class to keynote ceremony

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A generous donor and enthusiastic supporter of CLU, L. Karsten Lundring served on the Board for Regents for 26 years, including six as chair.

Photo: Brian Stethem

(THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – May 10, 2013) California Lutheran University will hold its 50th Undergraduate Commencement Ceremony at 10 a.m. Saturday, May 18, in William Rolland Stadium.

About 720 students are eligible to participate in the historic ceremony, held the day after a separate commencement for master’s and doctoral students.

L. Karsten Lundring, who was in CLU’s second graduating class in 1965, will give the keynote address. Following in his father’s footsteps, the Thousand Oaks resident decided in seventh grade that he wanted to be a general agent for Lutheran Brotherhood, now Thrivent Financial for Lutherans. He began working as a licensed agent when he was a freshman at CLU. Now a co-managing partner for the company’s southwest region, he was inducted into the General Agents and Managers Association Hall of Fame, one of the highest honors in the financial industry, in 2012. A generous donor and enthusiastic supporter of CLU, Lundring served on the Board for Regents for 26 years, including six as chair. He has twice been honored as Outstanding Alumnus, and he received the Christus Award for strengthening the bridge between CLU and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America in 2005.

Mark Richard Bañuelos, a Wilmington resident graduating with a bachelor’s degree in marketing communication, will speak on behalf of his fellow traditional undergraduate students. The first person in his family to attend a four-year university out of high school, he served as a resident assistant and played for the club lacrosse team at CLU. He has worked as a technician for Apple for the last two years and plans to continue at the company as he continues on his career path in marketing and multimedia. 

Alan Kingsley Hart, a Moorpark resident graduating with a bachelor’s degree in liberal studies, will speak on behalf of the Adult Degree Evening Program students. For the past seven years, he has worked in special education as an instructional aide in Iowa City and Oak Park. He volunteers for the Ventura County Special Olympics and the local level of the Miss America Organization.

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