5-16-11--The School of Engineering held its Spring 2011 Convocation to honor graduates on Saturday, May 14 in the UNM Arena, "the Pit" on main campus.
The Convocation is the School's own ceremony specifically to honor graduates, in the presence of their family and friends. Graduate students were met on the stage by their faculty thesis/dissertation advisor for the traditional "hooding" ceremony.
The Convocation began and ended with a colorful academic procession, led by a staff member carrying a banner in front of the School of Engineering degree candidates. Dr. Jerome Hall, Professor, Department of Civil Engineering (at right) was the faculty marshall and carried the ceremonial staff in the procession.
The Breece Award is given to the SOE senior with the highest grade point average from each graduating class. The recipients of this award consistently have grave point averages higher than 4.0, reflecting a majority of A+ grades throughout their undergraduate courses. The Breece Award recipient for Spring 2011 was Jamin Ryan Pillars, who received a B.S. in Chemical Engineering.
The keynote speaker was Bill Miera, founder and CEO of Fiore Industries, Inc. Mr. Miera received his B.S. and M.S. degrees from the UNM School of Engineering and a Certificate in Management from UNM's Robert O. Anderson School of Management.
Two School of Engineering students spoke at the ceremony: Emily Cate Wisdom, who received her B.S. in Chemical Engineering, and Amelia Williams Chare, who received her M.S. in Civil Engineering.
Members of the School of Engineering graduating class of 1961 visited campus to celebrate their 50th anniversary. Shown at right is UNM SOE Golden Graduate Thomas Gray from Seattle, who came to the convocation ceremony.
We honor their lifelong connection to the SOE and extend a warm greeting to those Golden Graduates who were unable to join us for the ceremony.
Congratulations, Spring 2011 SOE Graduates!
