Celebration Events for USD's Class of 2017

Celebration Events for USD's Class of 2017

Graduation Week 2017USD's Graduate Schools and two Undergraduate Commencement ceremonies will take place May 27 and 28, respectively, but there's additional celebrations occurring throughout this week, too.

Celebrations for the University of San Diego's Class of 2017 started in early May, but the most anticipated graduation events of the year will occur this week, highlighted by USD's Commencement ceremonies on Saturday, May 27, for graduate schools, and the two undergraduate events on Sunday, May 28, inside the Jenny Craig Pavilion (JCP).

On May 24, the USD Military and Veterans Program will host a graduation social from 3-4:30 p.m. in the USD Veterans Center (UC 225) to congratulate all military and veteran students in the Class of 2017. All are welcome to attend. Food and drinks will be provided. 

On May 25, starting at 9 p.m., the Torero Program Board hosts Grad Night 2017 at The Parq Restaurant and Nightclub (615 Broadway, San Diego, CA 92101). Live entertainment, a great dance floor, photo booth and more await all attendees who must be 21 and over to attend. Food and non-alcoholic beverages will be available and a cash bar is set for individual purchases of alcoholic drinks. Government-issued ID is required to enter the venue. Free transportation from campus and Mission Beach to/from the event will be provided. Tickets are $15 if purchased online before noon on May 23. The cost is $25 for general admission tickets if purchased at the door on May 25. For more information, contact Victoria Simon at victorias@sandiego.edu 

Friday, May 26 events

• From 10 a.m. to noon in the JCP, the Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps (NROTC) will conduct its Spring Commissioning Ceremony for men and women who are being commissioned as either a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Marines or as an Ensign in the U.S. Navy. A post-event reception will happen at Eagan Plaza, which is located just outside the JCP main entrance. To attend or for more information about this event, contact USD's on-campus NROTC unit by phone, (619) 260-4811 or email Sara Saragosa at sarasaragosa@sandiego.edu

• The annual Black Graduates Recognition Celebration and Reception will be held from 1-3 p.m. Friday in the Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice Theatre. The reception will follow in the KIPJ Rotunda and Garden of the Sky areas. Undergraduate, Graduate and Law members of the Class of 2017 will be feted. For more information, please contact Black Students Resource Center Director Ashley Barton at (619) 260-4173 or email acbarton@sandiego.edu

• A Pre-health graduates’ reception will take place for undergraduate seniors from 3:30-5 p.m. in the Degheri Alumni Center courtyard. For more information, contact Cassandra Gomez, director of USD Pre-health advising, at (619) 260-4545 or email cagomez@sandiego.edu

• A Graduate Schools Mass is from 3:30-4:30 p.m. in Founders Chapel, located within Founders Hall. All Graduate Schools honorees, family and friends are welcome to attend. There is no RSVP necessary and tickets are not needed to attend. For more information, contact Mary Kruer in the Office of Mission and Ministry, at (619) 260-5903 or by email, kruerm@sandiego.edu

• The Hahn School of Nursing and Health Science will host a reception first, starting at 4:30 p.m. at its building, followed by its annual Nursing Convocation for the 2017 graduates at 6 p.m. in Founders Chapel, located across the way from the school.

• A Class of 2017 Native American Indian graduating students’ celebration is at 6 p.m. in UC Forum C. Dinner will be provided. RSVP to Lan Yang by email, lanyang@sandiego.edu

Saturday, May 27 events

• Graduate Schools Commencement is from 10 a.m. to noon in the JCP. Graduate students from the advance degree programs within the USD School of Business, School of Leadership and Education Sciences, Hahn School of Nursing and Health Science, College of Arts and Sciences and the Joan B. Kroc School of Peace Studies and Professional and Continuing Education degree-specific programs will be celebrated. The event includes a Commencement address by Most Reverend Robert W. McElroy, Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego. The Graduate Schools Commencement will be live streamed on the USD website.

• After Commencement, the individual graduate schools will host receptions for graduates and their families at these campus locations: School of Business — Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice's Garden of the Sea (behind the building); School of Peace Studies — KIPJ's Garden of the Sky (in front of the building); SOLES — Mother Rosalie Hill Hall's West Patio area; College of Arts and Sciences — Degheri Alumni Center courtyard; and the School of Professional and Continuing Education — Shiley Center for Science and Technology Atrium. Note, too, that the Hahn School of Nursing's Reception on May 26 serves as its main individual celebration.

• The Chicana/o and Latina/o Graduates Recognition Celebration and Reception will be held at two places on campus. A reception will be held from noon to 1:30 p.m. on the Camino/Founders Patio area, followed by the graduation recognition ceremony from 1:30-3:30 p.m. inside Camino Hall's Shiley Theatre. For more information, contact the USD chapter of MEChA by email, usdmecha@sandiego.edu or call United Front Multicultural Center at (619) 260-2395 or email ufmc@sandiego.edu

• Student Affairs will host an awards luncheon celebration for outstanding undergraduate students from 12:30-2 p.m. in USD's La Gran Terraza Restaurant within the Hahn University Center. This event is by invitation only.

• The Baccalaureate Mass is for all Class of 2017 undergraduate graduates from 4 to 5 p.m. in the Jenny Craig Pavilion. For more information, contact Mary Kruer in the Office of Mission and Ministry at (619) 260-5903 or email kruerm@sandiego.edu. No RSVP is necessary and tickets are not needed to attend. The Mass will be live streamed on the USD website.

Sunday, May 28 events

• The College of Arts and Sciences Commencement ceremony is at 9 a.m. in the JCP. Tickets are required to enter the building and students each received a limited supply. The ceremony will include a Commencement address by Peter Kiley '85, vice president of Affiliate Relations and Communications at C-SPAN, a student valedictorian address by History and Sociology double major Emma Doolittle. Also, 99-year-old Physical Oceanographer and Geophysicist Walter H. Munk, PhD, will be a USD honorary degree recipient. The CAS Commencement will be live streamed starting a few minutes before 9 a.m.

• The School of Business and Shiley-Marcos School of Engineering Commencement will be at 2 p.m. in the JCP. Tickets are required to enter as each student received a limited supply. The Commencement address will be given by Chris Carr '86, executive vice president for Starbucks. Two student valedictorians, Business' Keely Palla (accountancy) and Engineering's Rachel Lloyd (Industrial and Systems), will give speeches. Lloyd is the first engineering valedictorian since engineering officially became a school in 2012. The School of Business/Shiley-Marcos School of Engineering Commencement will be live streamed starting a few minutes before 2 p.m.

One unique item for USD's undergraduate ceremonies is the on-the-spot announcement of this year's Male and Female Alcala Award winners.

Following both undergraduate ceremonies, graduates and their families are invited to attend a reception along Torero Way where there will be multiple tables for seating and refreshments will be available for all.