KAMLOOPS – It’s a fall of firsts for Thompson Rivers University.
The university’s first-ever Fall Convocation Ceremony, scheduled to begin at 3:00 pm on Thursday, Oct. 5 in the university’s Campus Activity Centre Grand Hall, is not as big as the Spring Convocation, but it’s every bit as meaningful, explained Josh Keller, TRU’s Director of Marketing and Communications.
“We decided to hold a convocation ceremony in the fall for a couple of reasons,” said Keller. “We have always had students who finished their programs during the summer semester, and then had to wait almost a full year to cross the convocation platform. Now, however, we also have a fairly broad contingent of Open Learning students who complete their programs after the spring ceremony, and on top of this group, we have students graduating from programs with January intakes, like nursing, computing and electronics.”
This year, that makes a potential 285 grads. As is the case with the spring ceremony, not all will attend, but one class will take advantage of this historic occasion: TRU’s first graduating class from its newly minted Master of Business Administration degree program.
The ceremony’s valedictorian was selected from that group. Addressing his fellow graduates will be Kevin Hewins, Master of Business Administration degree graduate.
Kevin Hewins was born in Campbell River, and graduated from high school there in 1998. After completing a Bachelor of Business Administration degree at TRU in 2005, he immediately enrolled in the new master degree program, while he held down a part-time job, at the same time maintaining a 4+ GPA for the duration of his intensive, 16-month program, where he was named to the Dean’s List and received the Convergys Scholarship. Kevin’s future plans include earning a PhD in organizational behaviour and becoming a university professor.
After the ceremony, which is expected to last about an hour and a half, grads, guests and dignitaries will make their way to the horticulture gardens, located just west of the Campus Activity Centre, for a graduate reception, to be held indoors in the event of inclement weather
For more information, please contact Josh Keller at 828-5008.
