As the 2024-25 academic year ends, another Warhawk class celebrates the achievement of graduating as the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater holds its commencement ceremonies with more than 1,500 students set to graduate this spring.
The two commencement ceremonies for the main campus will be held Saturday, May 17, at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m., both ceremonies at Kachel Fieldhouse in the Williams Center.
The morning ceremony will be for graduating students from the College of Arts and Communication, College of Business and Economics and the School of Graduate Studies.
The afternoon ceremony will be for students graduating from the College of Education and Professional Studies, College of Integrated Studies, College of Letters and Sciences, School of Graduate Studies and those earning degrees not affiliated with a specific college.
The morning’s ceremony speakers are alumna Lynn Gardiner and Kylie Bilello. Gardiner graduated in 1990 with a BBA in accounting. Bilello is graduating with her BBA in management with an emphasis in nonprofit. Bilello is also part of the campus’s chapter of the American Marketing Association, where she is the social impact division president.
The afternoon ceremony’s speakers are Julie Anding and Megan Hayes. Anding graduated in 1992 with a B.S. in psychology and later earned her M.S. in guidance and counseling. Hayes is earning her B.A. in English with a minor in theatre.
The Rock County ceremony will be held Tuesday, May 20, at 6:30 p.m. in the gymnasium of the Wells Cultural Center on the Rock County campus in Janesville, for students graduating from the campus’s College of Integrated Studies. The Excellence in Teaching Awards will be announced at the U-Rock ceremony.
The Rock County ceremony speakers are student speaker Gloria Lara and commencement speaker Jane Blain Gilbertson.
Many students and staff have shown to appreciate UW-Whitewater as a place where they fell in love the moment they first stepped foot on campus.
“UW-Whitewater is an exceptional university, and there are so many things that make it stand out,” said Executive Director of University Marketing and Communications Jeff Angileri.
“I’m so extremely grateful for this opportunity to share my story and to share my knowledge with the other graduates,” Bilello said. “I’m thankful to this university and to the College of Business and Economics for giving me the opportunity to grow personally and professionally.”
Most importantly, students have memories to live with.
“You should definitely come here; the people are friendly, and the friends that you make, you can carry memories for a lifetime, and also the professors here want you to succeed,” Hayes said.
For more information regarding commencement, go to the commencement page of UW-W’s website.
Congratulations, class of 2025!
