MISSOULA – The University of Montana held its 122nd Spring Commencement ceremony on Saturday in the Adams Center.
“Today is the best day of the year here at the University of Montana because we are here to celebrate the
tremendous accomplishments of our graduates. It is a true privilege to be here with you all today and to our graduates,” Bodnar told the students.
“We are here to celebrate what has been a wonderful journey — a challenging journey at times –for you I’m sure,” Bodnar told the crowd. “And one that you should be very proud of and I want to offer my deep and heartfelt congratulations to you today you are graduating from one of the finest universities in the world,” he added.
This year’s graduating class had 2,046 students from a variety of different majors. Two processions took
place on Saturday, one at 9 a.m. and the other at 2 p.m. This year’s commencement speaker was UM graduate Lisa Parks who in 2018 received the MacArthur Fellowship Award.
Throughout Saturday and Friday, the different departments also hosted their celebrations with the last one happening at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday.
“We have spent the last few years of our lives understanding how things work and the Innovative ways to
better them, so now is the time to take your knowledge and not just maintain the status quo, but better it for others,” said ASUM Vice President Mariah Welsh. “Nelson Mandela once stated education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”
We at MTN want to say a huge congratulations to Lauren Heiser and Katie Miller who are both graduating from the School of Journalism at the University of Montana. They work as part-time weekend reporters.
Reporting by Connor McCauley for MTN News
