TWU to conduct Fall 2018 Commencement

DENTON/DALLAS/HOUSTON — The Fall 2018 semester at Texas Woman’s University will draw to a close with commencement ceremonies scheduled Wednesday, Dec. 12 in Houston and Friday and Saturday, Dec. 14 and 15 on TWU’s Denton campus.

The Houston ceremony will take place at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 12 in The Woodlands Waterway Marriott. Upali Nanda, Ph.D., a principal and director of research with HKS Architects and associate professor of practice at the University of Michigan, will deliver the commencement address. Approximately 187 degrees will be awarded during the ceremony.

The Denton ceremonies include candidates from TWU’s Dallas Center. Approximately 1,248 degrees will be awarded during the Denton ceremonies, which will take place in the Kitty Magee Arena of Pioneer Hall, located on Bell Avenue.

Denton ceremonies scheduled Friday, Dec. 14 are:

• Ceremony I at 9 a.m., with guest speaker Capt. Sandy Anderson, retired Northwest Airlines pilot and a TWU Distinguished Alumna
• Ceremony II at 2 p.m., with guest speaker Sharon Garrett, vice president of ancillary services for Medical City Denton, as well as a TWU alumna

Denton ceremonies scheduled Saturday, Dec. 15 are:

• Ceremony III at 9 a.m., with guest speaker Robert Kaplan, president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas
• Ceremony IV at 2 p.m., with guest speaker Lynn McBee, CEO of the Young Women’s Preparatory Network.

All TWU ceremonies will be viewable via live streaming at https://www.twu.edu/registrar/graduation-and-commencement/livestream-commencement/

Bell Avenue will be closed to thru traffic during the ceremonies. For more information on Commencement, visit https://twu.edu/registrar/graduation-and-commencement/commencement-schedule/

A number of students walking across stages in Denton and Houston this year have remarkable stories of achievement:

• Myisha Brooks-Robinson will receive her master of business administration degree with a management emphasis during the Houston commencement. Brooks-Robinson was a United States Navy E-4 petty officer when she suffered a brain injury that resulted in post-traumatic stress disorder. Making a decision that neither PTSD nor her brain injury would define her life, she enrolled at TWU and completed her degree in just 12 months with a 3.8 grade point average. She also served as Student Government Association president. Brooks-Robinson recently took a position with The Mission Continues, a non-profit organization involving veterans serving their communities, and also is putting the final touches on her book, "Healthy Ways to Live with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder," to be released in January.
• Millie Gargurevich will receive her Ph.D. in counseling psychology curing Ceremony I. Born in Lima, Peru, Gargurevich immigrated to the U.S. at the age of 10, never dreaming she would one day earn a doctoral degree. Twelve years later, after returning from an Air Force deployment to Iraq, her commanding officer died by suicide. Wanting to improve mental health among service members, Gargurevich eventually enrolled in TWU’s doctoral counseling psychology program. While at TWU, she became the youngest enlisted member of her command to be promoted to master sergeant. She later was commissioned as an Air Force captain and was accepted to the Air Force Health Professions Scholarship Program. Gargurevich also completed an American Psychological Association-accredited Air Force internship at Wright-Patterson Medical Center in Ohio. After graduation, she plans to continue working as an alcohol and drug abuse prevention and treatment program manager at Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana.
• Five of the six “Acolytes of Apollo,” the TWU team that won this year’s NASA design challenge, will graduate during Ceremony II with their bachelor of science degrees in kinesiology. Miranda Moore, Alexis Quintana, Audra Romans, Arianne Scheller and Charles Swieczkowski and teammate Curt Neeld (who will graduate in May 2019) developed a garment containing integrated technology that may help lessen lower back pain in astronauts. Their design won best overall team accolades at the Texas Space Grant Consortium Design Challenge Showcase, held Nov. 12 in Houston. This marked the first time a TWU team competed in the design challenge.
• Angie Junge will receive her master’s degree in nursing during Ceremony III. Junge worked as a registered nurse at a low-income elementary school for 10 years and saw many students suffer due to a lack of healthcare. She decided to become a nurse practitioner and chose to attend TWU because of its affordability and national ranking, as well as a family connection — her grandmother also graduated from the university. While attending graduate school, Junge was diagnosed with metastatic thyroid cancer. At the same time, her younger sister became very ill and, as a result, is now a quadruple amputee. Through it all, Junge says she gained a greater understanding of joy and compassion. She hopes to work in a primary care or community clinic after graduation, honing her skills in order to eventually work as a nurse practitioner at a low-income school or church clinic. 
• Schyler Jones will graduate during Ceremony IV with a bachelor of science in interdisciplinary studies, emphasis on early childhood through sixth grade English as a Second Language. Jones is a TWU scholar-athlete who excelled both in gymnastics competitions and the classroom. She is graduating magna cum laude with a 3.8 grade point average, which she achieved while dedicating 20 hours a week to training for gymnastics meets. She was named all-around champion at the spring national competition with four first-place event finishes. USA Gymnastics recognized Jones as the Outstanding Senior Athlete of 2018.

Page last updated 3:07 PM, April 12, 2023