A record 621 candidates are eligible to walk across the stage at the 193rd UW–Platteville commencement ceremony Saturday.
This record surpasses the fall mark of 602 set in 2012.
The day will be split into two ceremonies. The College of Business, Industry, Life Science and Agriculture and School of Graduate Studies will hold commencement at 9 a.m. while the College of Engineering, Mathematics and Science and College of Liberal Arts and Education will have their ceremony at 2 p.m. Both ceremonies will take place at Bo Ryan Court in Williams Fieldhouse and be streamed live on the UW–Platteville Media Services website.
The 9 a.m. ceremony will feature 213 undergraduate candidates from the College of BILSA and 97 graduate candidates from the School of Graduate Studies.
The senior speaker will be Kayla Kohlmeier, a biology graduate from Byron, Ill. Kohlmeier is also one of the valedictorians for the College of BILSA along with Cameron Berg, a biology graduate from Wind Lake.
Rob Bell, a 1987 UW–Platteville accounting graduate and certified speaking professional, will be the principal speaker for the ceremony.
Alissa Grenawalt and Ryan Hauber will be honored as the College of BILSA outstanding alumni. Grenawalt received her bachelor’s in animal science and a minor in agribusiness in 1999 and returned for her master’s degree in agricultural industries in 2000. She currently works as an Extension outreach specialist with the UW–Madison Department of Animal Sciences where she supports the youth livestock and other ruminant program areas in the department. Hauber is a 1999 accounting graduate from UW-Platteville and currently serves as a partner with Honkamp Krueger Co., P.C. in Dubuque, the second-fastest growing certified public accounting firm in the Midwest.
Dr. Arthur Ranney, who will retire in May after 17 years with the department of media studies at UW–Platteville, will serve as the ceremony’s commencement marshal.
The 2 p.m. ceremony will feature 164 undergraduate candidates from the College of EMS and 147 from the College of LAE. Yuexin Cao, a mathematics major with an emphasis in actuarial science with a minor in business administration graduate from Yichang, China, will serve as the senior speaker while Maria Lauck, regional director for generation operations at Alliant Energy, will be the principal speaker.
Robert Hendrickson and Chad Schakelman will be honored as outstanding alumni for the 2 p.m. ceremony. Hendrickson, a 1999 industrial engineering graduate of UW–Platteville, is the director of engineering and maintenance at Frito-Lay in Beloit. Schakelman, a 2000 civil engineering graduate with an emphasis in structural and construction, is currently the industrial division manager, executive team member and strategic team member for JP Cullen.
The valedictorian for the College of LAE will be Amanda Spangler, a criminal justice graduate from Marshall, while Zachary Lamers, an engineering physics graduate from Appleton, will serve as valedictorian for the College of EMS.
Yong Li, who will retire in January after 23 years with the department of electrical engineering at UW–Platteville, will be the ceremony’s commencement marshal.
