As another semester comes to an end, students who are a part of the class of 2019 are preparing to walk across a stage, receive their diploma and move on to the next phase of their lives.
This May, about 1,095 students will be graduating, according to the Texas A&M University- Kingsville’s (TAMUK) Office of Marketing and Communications.
There will be 737 undergraduates, 336 masters and 22 doctoral students graduating.
To celebrate those who will be graduating, there will be three commencements on Friday, May 17. All ceremonies will be held in the Steinke Physical Education Center.
The College of Agriculture and Natural Resources and the College of Education and Human Performances will have their ceremony at 10 a.m. The College of Arts and Sciences and the College of Business Administration ceremony will be held at 1 p.m. The keynote speaker for the 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. ceremonies will be Dr. Rumaldo Juarez.
One more ceremony will be held at 4 p.m. for the College of Engineering, and engineering alumnus Mike Howard will be the keynote speaker.
For many students, walking across the stage at graduation marks the first steps into a new chapter of their lives. This momentous occasion reflects the hard work and perseverance students have gone through while studying for their degree; it also marks the beginning of the careers they have spent time in school preparing for.
Communications major Leslie Garza is one student who will be walking across the stage to receive her diploma this May.
For her, the three years she spent at TAMUK have been memorable, but she is now ready to use the skills and knowledge she has gained in college in her career.
“I feel pretty calm about [graduation], but I also cry every day. I happy cry because I’m so excited to start my career and utilize everything I’ve been taught here,” Garza said. “My memories here are amazing but in order to miss it I have to leave and move on. The typical college life just isn’t for me anymore, it’s my time to be a big girl.”
Biomedical Sciences major Icia Garcia will also be graduating on May 17.
She has spent the last four years of her life at TAMUK, so the fast approaching graduation ceremony is exciting.
“It is honestly such a surreal feeling, but yet it is mixed with this urge of excitement and accomplishment. All I remember is when I picked up my cap and gown from the bookstore, and thinking, ‘Wow, I’ve done it, I am one step closer to walking at commencement,’” Garcia said.
Garcia’s next step will be continuing her education at the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. But she will miss the TAMUK environment.
“I would say, from the faculty I have met, my amazing bosses and the friends that I have made, that I will miss them all. I will miss the welcoming atmosphere TAMUK exhibits, but I can say with certain[ty] that all the memories I have made here and the relationships I have formed will continue to be alongside me as I move on to the next chapter of my life. I cannot wait to pridefully say that I am a Javelina Alumn[us],” Garcia said.
The Award-Winning Texas A&M University-Kingsville Student Publication
