Dads
of Grads (and Moms) Get Special Gift Sunday
By Ioana Patrigenaru | June 19, 2006
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Sixth College students stand
during Sunday's
commencement ceremony at the RIMAC Arena. |
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A roaring rumble shook the RIMAC Arena and hundreds
cheered as more than 200 students made history by
becoming Sixth College’s inaugural graduating
class Sunday. As an added bonus, they gave their fathers
a very special present, by graduating on Father’s
Day.
“I can’t think of a better gift than having a graduate in the family,” Chancellor Marye Anne Fox said Sunday. “What do you think, fathers?”
The audience answered with thunderous applause. Chancellor Fox then reflected on the education Sixth College students received.
“I hope if you’ve learned anything during
your years here, it’s been that you have to
learn and unlearn and re-evaluate what you’ve
learned,” she told students.
Sixth College’s core curriculum blends culture,
art and technology. It puts an emphasis on computer
literacy, writing, multimedia technologies and communication
skills. Students also take part in hands-on projects,
including working with Sudanese refugees and inner
city students. This was in effect Sixth College’s
first inaugural class, though last year a few students
received their diplomas after completing all their
requirements in just three years.
“You’ve shaped and built Sixth College and created the spirit of our community,” Provost Gabriele Wienhausen told students Sunday.
Sixth College’s curriculum allowed Richard
Andrew Duran Koff to broaden his perspectives, said
his mother, Ramona. Koff graduated as a biochemistry
and cell biology major and plans to go to med school.
But at Sixth College, he also took music and literature
classes.
“It made him more culturally aware of others,” Ramona Koff said.
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| Some brought home-made signs to congratulate
the graduates. Vikrum Singh Nijjar, a computer
science major, was one of more than 200
Sixth College students to receive his diploma
Sunday. |
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And what did Koff's father, Steven Koff, think of
a graduation taking place on Father’s Day?
“It’s the best gift I could get," he said.
Meanwhile, Katherine Ellen Eifert’s father,
Don, confessed that he was experiencing a bit of a
déjà vu Sunday. His son, Benn, graduated
from Stanford on Father’s Day a few years ago.
Now it was his daughter’s turn.
Eifert was this year’s student speaker for
Sixth College’s commencement. During her time
at UCSD, she taught English in an Ethiopian orphanage.
She also worked in Mozambique for three months.
“She blossomed more here than in any other place in her life,” said her mother, Carol.
After graduation, Eifert is headed for Northern California,
where she will study to become a minister. She wants
to serve as a missionary in Africa, said her mother.
During her graduation speech, Eifert urged her classmates
to work with their community. Then she too acknowledged
all the fathers in the audience.
“To all of you dads: Happy Father’s Day,” she said. “We honor you as well.”
Sixth College’s graduation was part of a busy three-day commencement schedule at UCSD. In all, more than 5000 students graduated, starting with Marshall College at 8:30 a.m. Saturday and ending with Eleanor Roosevelt College at 10 a.m. today. Marshall and Muir graduated 900 students each. Then 1250 students graduated from Warren, 850 from Revelle and 800 from Roosevelt. Graduate students also had their share of festivities. Saturday, 125 students graduated from the Graduate School of International Relations/Pacific Studies and the Graduate Division awarded 275 post-graduate degrees Sunday.
Graduation speakers included former state Sen. Dede
Alpert, Jonathan Karl, an ABC News national
security correspondent and Mike Farrell, who played
B.J. Hunnicut in the cult TV series M*A*S*H.
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Engineering Students Take Oath of Honor
Jacobs School of Engineering students began their commencement celebration on a serious note with the UCSD’s inaugural Order of the Engineer ring ceremony. About 115 graduating engineers took an oath to practice engineering with integrity and high standards, and placed a ring on the fifth finger of their writing hand to remind them of their oath as they sign engineering documents.
“The ceremony was not only a symbol of how seriously our students take their engineering profession, but also of the incredible culture of leadership, teamwork and pride building among our student body,” said Dean Frieder Seible.
The event, held Saturday in the Engineering
Courtyard was initiated and organized by
the Triton Engineering Student Council (TESC),
which represents 17 UCSD student chapters
of professional engineering organizations.
TESC plans to make this an annual event
and include alumni who want to come back
to take the oath. |
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