A winter storm caused some changes in UND’s Winter Commencement ceremonies, but it did not stop graduates for receiving their diplomas.
A professional and graduate degree ceremony was planned for Thursday, but the storm forced that event to be combined with Friday’s first undergraduate ceremony at Chester Fritz Auditorium. A second undergraduate degree ceremony followed.
The guest speaker was UND alum Angie Freeman, an executive with Minnesota-based logistics company C.H. Robinson.
Freeman told the graduates they’ll never stop learning.
“The world is changing really rapidly and today’s knowledge will be fleeting,” she said. “Change will never be slower than it is today. UND has imbued in you critical learning skills you have learned how to learn. So use those skills you gained here to keep your growth going.”
More than 800 students were eligible to cross the stage.
The commencement ceremonies were the last for UND’s longtime Director of Ceremonies and Events Fred Wittmann, who is retiring Jan. 3rd after a half-century at UND.
Wittmann has planned about 130 commencement ceremonies and hundreds of university events.
Wittmann will be succeeded by Brooke Conlin, currently senior director of events for the UND Alumni Association & Foundation.
FOLLOW US FOR INSTANT UPDATES!
