TWU to conduct spring 2018 commencement

The Spring 2018 semester at Texas Woman’s University will draw to a close with commencement ceremonies scheduled Friday and Saturday, May 11 and 12 on TWU’s Denton campus and Sunday, May 13 in Houston.

The Denton ceremonies include candidates from TWU’s Dallas Center. Approximately 1,491 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, May 11 are:

• Ceremony I at 9 a.m., with guest speaker TWU alumna Megan Gabriel, a mathematics teacher at Denton High School;
• Ceremony II at 1 p.m., with guest speaker TWU alumna Charla H. Bradshaw, shareholder and managing attorney with KoonsFuller Family Law;
• Ceremony III at 4:30 p.m., with guest speaker Sue S. Bancroft, former chair and presiding officer of the TWU Board of Regents.

 Denton ceremonies scheduled Saturday, May 12 are:

• Ceremony IV at 9 a.m., with guest speaker Brad Morgan, vice president of operations for The Heart Hospital Baylor Denton;
• Ceremony V at 1 p.m., with guest speaker TWU alumnus Roy J. Garcia Jr., associate superintendent of the Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District.

For more information on commencement ceremonies, visit https://twu.edu/registrar/graduation-and-commencement/

The Houston ceremony will take place at 2 p.m. Sunday, May 13 in The Woodlands Waterway Marriott Hotel & Convention Center, 1601 Lake Robbins Dr. in The Woodlands. Dr. Arthur “Tim” Garson Jr., director of the Health Policy Institute at Texas Medical Center, will deliver the commencement address. Approximately 273 degrees will be awarded during the ceremony.

A number of the 1,764 students walking across stages in Denton and Houston this year have remarkable stories of significant achievement:

• Kevin Dale Doucet will receive his master of science degree in informatics during Ceremony I. In 2016, Doucet earned his bachelor’s degree in computer science at TWU. While taking classes and studying, Doucet continued his full-time job as a police patrol officer, working 12-hour shifts for the town of Flower Mound, a position he has held since 2005. Doucet completed multiple research projects as a student, which sparked his interest in continuing with research in computer science and informatics after graduation. He plans to stay with the police department and possibly transition into crime analysis.
• U.S. Army veteran Terraney Flowers will receive her bachelor of business administration in accounting during Ceremony II. Flowers deployed to Afghanistan when her second son was only 6 weeks old to work as a supply specialist in support of the infantry and aviators. She retired as a sergeant after eight years of service and raised three active boys while completing her studies. Three days a week, she would attend the boys’ football practices equipped with her accounting books and earphones. She did it all to show her children that with hard work, they can achieve anything — just like their mom, who has accepted her dream job as a risk and financial adviser with Deloitte & Touche in their Dallas office.
• Christina Rohmer will receive her bachelor of science in biology during Ceremony III. Rohmer grew up in the small town of Muenster, but says TWU has greatly expanded her perspective. She began studying how cells access and repair sections of DNA that have been damaged from exposure to UV irradiation. This summer, she will intern at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, researching DNA damage recognition and repair. Rohmer also participated in TWU’s study abroad partnership program at Harlaxton College in Grantham, England. She plans to attend the University of Nottingham in England, where she has been accepted to the Cancer Immunology and Biotechnology master’s program. Eventually, she plans to earn her Ph.D. and pursue a career in cancer immunotherapy research.
• Catherine Carr will receive her bachelor of science in kinesiology during Ceremony IV. Carr is a third-generation TWU graduate. Her mother, Elaina Carr, a practicing occupational therapist, earned a bachelor’s degree in occupational therapy in 1995, and her grandmother, Stella Barrow, received a bachelor’s degree in health, physical education and recreation and in biology in 1970. Both will be in the audience at graduation. Carr’s parents were married in the Little Chapel in-the-Woods, and her grandmother was a member of TWU’s swim team. Carr plans to follow her mother’s career path by pursuing a degree in occupational therapy.
• Christina Buce will receive her master’s degree in counseling and development during Ceremony V. Born with a form of dwarfism, Buce says the challenges she has faced have made her more observant and empathetic. She previously taught elementary education and began research children’s mental health after noticing that stress and anxiety were becoming more of a problem among students. Her lessons about mindfulness, personal strengths and resilience improved her students’ academics and inspired her to apply to the TWU Graduate Counseling and Development Program. She recently accepted a job as an elementary school counselor and also plans to become a licensed professional counselor and registered play therapist.
• Valerie Armand will receive her bachelor of science in nursing during the Houston ceremony. When she was 8 years old, Armand left Guatemala with her sister and mother to come to the United States. After juggling her job, schoolwork and motherhood over the past two years, Armand will become the first in her family to graduate from a university.

Page last updated 1:24 PM, May 6, 2021