Another school year was wrapped up at UW-Whitewater, with the university’s commencement ceremony for graduating students held May 16 in the Kachel Fieldhouse.
The commencement ceremony is an annual celebration of the students graduating, in which their achievements are honored with speeches by students and faculty.
There were two different ceremonies for UW-W that took place Saturday, May 16 with a morning ceremony held from 10 – 11:30 a.m. and an afternoon ceremony held from 3 – 4:30 p.m. The Rock County campus held its commencement ceremony in the gymnasium of the Wells Cultural Center at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 19, 2026.
The UW-W morning ceremony consisted of speeches from student speaker Joe Balistreri and commencement speaker Peter Glerum, as well as the walking of students from the School of Graduate Studies, the College of Arts and Communication and the College of Business and Economics.
The afternoon ceremony consisted of the walking of students from the School of Graduate Studies, the College of Education and Professional Studies, the College of Integrated Studies and the College of Letters and Sciences. The afternoon ceremony also included two student speakers Cade Stowe and Sabrina Wolf.
Stowe began at UW-W in 2018, took a break of 2 years, and returned in the fall of 2023. Some students who take breaks may feel like they are behind their peers, but Stowe mentioned that taking a break in your college career is not being left behind.
“We all have our own journeys and our own paths. It’s important to remember this is your story,” Stowe said. “I think we all have this pressure to be like or be as good as everybody else. I came back more prepared and mature after that break.”
Throughout his time as a student, Stowe participated in countless activities, including intramural basketball, acting, student jobs and peer mentoring. However, among all of this, what stood out to Stowe was presenting research on sexual and gender identities and being able to speak on underrepresented groups.
The second student speaker in the afternoon ceremony was Sabrina Wolf. She evolved during her time at UW-W, as she was originally unsure of what she wanted her path to be. After some experimentation and the advice of many people, Wolf eventually found her major to be environmental science. Participation in storm chasing, clubs and activities along the way further cemented her passion.
These are just two brief stories out of the approximately 1,200 graduates who attend commencement annually. Honoring these students, their stories and achievements is what graduation is all about.
