SPOKANE Years of discipline and hard work will culminate on Friday, May 2 as WSU Spokane celebrates the success of its 18th class of graduates. Chancellor Brian Pitcher will preside over the ceremony recognizing the accomplishments of 437 students.
The commencement program begins at 2 p.m. in the Spokane Convention Center Ballroom 100 at 334 W Spokane Falls Blvd. There are no tickets required for this event and doors open at 1:30 p.m.
Special guest Mary C. Selecky, secretary of the Washington State Department of Health, will pay tribute to graduates’ accomplishments as she delivers the commencement address. Throughout her career, Selecky has been a leader in developing local, state and national public health policies. She helped create the state’s Department of Health, which she has led since 1999. She was also instrumental in developing Washington’s nationally recognized Public Health Improvement Partnership.
Rhonda Ramm, nominated by her peers and faculty, will serve as the student speaker. Her nominators applauded her inspiration to fellow students and to those following their passion in life. Ramm, who will receive a master of nursing degree, has always had a natural passion for her chosen professionstating that she didn’t choose nursing, but nursing chose her.
“Perhaps equal to receiving my master of nursing is the pride of knowing what this journey has instilled in each of my childrenthe ability to see each person as an individual,” said Ramm.
Ramm, originally from a dairy farm in Soap Lake, Wash., traveled thousands of miles to complete her degreeall while caring for her family, which included the rearing of four children. She could have stopped there and still remained inspirational, but she chose to take it further by mentoring staff members at nursing agencies and encouraging colleagues to seek more knowledge to understand the holistic nursing practice.
The graduating class of 2008 is represented by 92 doctoral candidates in the areas of education, psychology and pharmacy89 of whom will receive a Doctor of Pharmacy degree. The 123 masters and post masters certificate candidates will be receiving degrees in the areas of school psychology, architecture, criminal justice, engineering and technology management, exercise science, health policy administration, interior design, landscape architecture, nursing, teaching and university programs in communication disordersa joint WSU and EWU program. The 222 bachelor’s candidates will receive degrees in the areas of architecture, exercise physiology and metabolism, interior design, landscape architecture, leadership and professional studies, and nursing.
The nursing baccalaureates total 154 students who will receive their degrees from the WSU Intercollegiate College of Nursing and its consortium partners EWU, Gonzaga University and Whitworth University. All baccalaureate nursing graduates receive joint degrees from WSU and from the institution at which they did their first two years of study.
