What
UNLV will award its 100,000th degree during the Fall 2011 Commencement Ceremony
When
Saturday, December 17, beginning at 9 a.m.
Where
Thomas & Mack Center at UNLV
Details
More than 3,000 UNLV undergraduate and graduate students are eligible to participate in this year's fall commencement ceremony. Graduates range in age from 19 to 79 and hail from more than 60 countries. UNLV awarded its first degree in 1964 and will top 100,000 at Saturday's ceremony. For those unable to attend, the event will stream live at unlv.vegasgraduations.com.
Former U.S. Senator Richard Bryan will be honored with the Distinguished Nevadan award for his commitment to higher education in Nevada. UNLV President Neal Smatresk will also highlight five graduating students during the ceremony for their outstanding achievements both at the university and in the community.
Note: Floor access during commencement is limited to participants and credentialed media. Media can reserve a UNLV commencement credential by contacting the Office of Media Relations at (702) 895-0893 or by email at tony.allen@unlv.edu. Follow the festivities on Twitter at #UNLVGrad
Guest/Visitor Information
The doors of the Thomas & Mack Center and Cox Pavilion will open at 8 a.m. All guests should enter through the Thomas & Mack Center, while all graduates should report to Cox Pavilion for line-up. Seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis; no tickets are required. Ample parking is available in the Thomas & Mack Center lot. The ceremony will last approximately two and a half hours. For more information, please visit commencement.unlv.edu.
Outstanding Graduates
Outstanding graduates are selected by UNLV President Neal Smatresk after a semester-long nomination process. Students are chosen based on outstanding academic achievements, community outreach and their ability to overcome adversity.
Dominic Henriques -- Master of Health Care Administration and Policy
Dominic Henriques' research into second-hand smoke could lead to a healthier future for Nevada's youngest citizens. His investigations have shown that current policy fails to preserve indoor air quality in child-friendly areas of casinos exempt from the Nevada Clean Indoor Air Act. His study has been accepted for publication in the Journal of Health and Human Services. Now he is examining the levels of second-hand smoke for employees working in exempt areas. Henriques is researching emergency room use by Las Vegas visitors. The epidemiological survey will help improve early reporting of biological outbreaks that originate elsewhere and are brought to the valley by visitors. Dominic, who is graduating with a 4.0 GPA, has been hired by a managed care company, but at the same time will continue assisting in research at UNLV.
Michael Johnson -- M.S. Nursing
Michael Johnson's master's thesis has made a significant contribution to research focused on one of the largest underserved populations in any nursing setting -- the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community. The valuable information contained in his thesis is not the only demonstration of Michael's outstanding academic ability. A pediatric critical care nurse who specializes in nephrology, Johnson also earned a GPA of better than 3.9. In the fall, Johnson, who has a long history of volunteerism, will begin pursuing a Ph.D. in nursing.
Amanda McAtee -- B.A. History
Amanda McAtee has what one of her professors describes as "an unusually fruitful contrarian streak" in class. In other words, McAtee's keen insight keeps her professors on their toes. History professor Paul Werth says she has an "ability to comprehend complex texts and arguments (that) is virtually unmatched." McAtee, who has a near 4.0 GPA, has served as an undergraduate representative to the history department and was membership officer for UNLV's award-winning history honor society. That she has accomplished so much is made all the more remarkable by the fact that she has done so while dealing with a debilitating neurological disorder.
Junichi Miyamoto -- B.A. History
Junichi Miyamoto has a bright academic future -- and that's on top of his stellar undergraduate academic achievements. Graduating in just three years with a GPA of 4.0, Miyamoto received both the Ralph Roske Award for best new history major and the Lance and Elena Calvert Award for research that one of his professors says has the potential of revising the narrative of the history of NASA. He will be attending Columbia Law School, but not until he completes an internship at the American Institute of Taiwan and a master's degree program in public policy at the University of Tokyo, which will involve a year of study in Tokyo followed by a year of study in Singapore.
Emily Tamadonfar -- B.S. Biology
Emily Tamadonfar is she graduating with a 4.0 GPA and ranked in the top 5 percent in the nation on the American Chemical Society Standardized Test in organic chemistry -- a notoriously difficult subject. Tamadonfar has conducted research on a variety of subjects, including stem cell research, anatomy and histology database, and axonal outgrowth research. This Honors College student has received numerous awards, including the Robert C. Maxson Phi Kappa Phi Graduate Scholarship and the Nevada System of Higher Education Regents Undergraduate Scholar award. She has volunteered with several organizations, including the oncology department at the Siena campus of St. Rose Dominican Hospital. Next she's off to medical school.
