¹ú²úAV

Approximately 691 students are graduating from the University of Northern Colorado (¹ú²úAV) on Dec. 13 – 14, during the university’s fall 2024 commencement ceremonies. More graduates are earning degrees in business and the performing arts this fall compared to the previous five fall classes and 45% of this fall’s undergraduates are the first in their families to earn a college degree.  

¹ú²úAV’s Graduate Commencement ceremony, recognizing approximately 286 students who will receive a doctoral, specialist or master’s degree, will take place on Friday, Dec. 13, at 6 p.m. 

Undergraduate Commencement consists of two ceremonies on Saturday, Dec. 14, for the approximately 405 students receiving bachelor’s degrees. The 9 a.m. ceremony will recognize graduates of the Kenneth W. Monfort College of Business, College of Natural and Health Sciences and College of Performing and Visual Arts. The 12:30 p.m. ceremony will recognize graduates of the College of Education and Behavioral Sciences and the College of Humanities and Social Sciences. 

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RELATED: Faces of Fall 2024 Graduates

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All ceremonies will be held at . Tickets are required for entry and are distributed to graduates electronically via their BearMail accounts. Guests must obtain tickets in advance of the ceremony as they are not available at the door.   

The ceremonies can be viewed in many ways, including livestream via ¹ú²úAV’s website and on social media platforms for family and friends watching from home. The university also offers live Spanish-language interpretation services and viewing spaces on campus for people who want a less crowded viewing space.  

More information about tickets, parking locations and a campus map are available on ¹ú²úAV’s commencement website. 

About Our Fall Graduates 

• The 83 students graduating from the College of Performing and Visual Arts (PVA) represent the largest undergraduate (43) and graduate (40) fall classes from the college in the past five years. The growth is driven primarily by Music and Theatre Arts and Dance graduates. 

• The Monfort College of Business is graduating their largest fall undergraduate class since 2019 with 75 students earning a degree in Business Administration. The growth is driven primarily by students seeking a concentration in Accounting and Finance.  

• Among fall graduates from the past five years, this fall’s class has the highest percent of undergraduate (24.9%) and graduate (14.7%) students who identify as Hispanic/Latino.

• Among our fall graduates, 14 started as Aims2¹ú²úAV students. 

• The undergraduate students graduating this fall received over $7.7 million in combined merit-based and private scholarships and grants (aid that doesn’t need to be repaid) throughout their ¹ú²úAV education. 

• The fall class includes 181 undergraduate students (45%) who are the first in their families to earn a college degree.  

• The fall 2024 class includes 16 undergraduate and graduate student-athletes across the following sports: baseball, football, men’s golf, swimming and diving, volleyball, women’s basketball and women’s soccer. 

• The fall class includes 33 United States veterans; 18 undergraduate students and 15 graduate students.  

• The graduates come from 41 Colorado counties, 39 states and 10 countries.  

• The youngest graduate this fall is 19 years old and the oldest is 64.  

• The College of Natural and Health Sciences has the largest number of undergraduate students (115), followed by the College of Education and Behavioral Sciences (102), College of Humanities and Social Sciences (88), the Monfort College of Business (70) and the College of Performing and Visual Arts (37).  

• The College of Education and Behavioral Sciences has the largest number of graduate students (158), followed by College of Natural and Health Sciences (41), Monfort College of Business (40), College of Performing and Visual Arts (40) and College of Humanities and Social Sciences (7).  

• Business Administration (71) was the most popular undergraduate degree this fall, followed by Nursing (47), Psychology (38), Elementary Education (34) and Criminology and Criminal Justice (20). 

• Business Administration (40) was the most popular graduate degree program this fall, followed by Educational Leadership (33), Clinical and Mental Health Counseling (27), Special Education (25) and Educational Psychology (17). 

• With the fall 2024 graduating class, ¹ú²úAV now has more than 134,000 living alumni living and working in all 50 states and 90 countries. 

Data about ¹ú²úAV’s fall 2024 class is preliminary and based on demographics of students who have applied to graduate as of Nov. 20, 2024. Degrees are officially conferred January 2025. 

Graduate Commencement Ceremony Student Speakers 

Marina Rodriguez is a first-generation college student from San Diego, California. Her research focuses on high school senior Latina students’ motivations and aspirations to attend higher education after graduating high school. A long-term career goal is to gain exposure to higher education administrative roles that help empower and advocate for Latina/o/é/x students. 

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Kimberly S. Corban is an award-winning advocate and sexual assault survivor raised in Greeley. She is a credentialed crime victim advocate, having worked for the Greeley Police Department and Weld County District Attorney's Office. Corban consults with and trains organizations internationally on sexual assault prevention education. Her experience in trauma-informed media promotes consent-based coverage and treatment of crime survivors and their families. Through legislative efforts, public awareness campaigns and media influence, Corban leverages her expertise to further support survivors of crime.  

Undergraduate Commencement Ceremony Student Speakers 

Alexander Talentowski is a passionate outdoor enthusiast. He loves hiking, snowboarding and testing his mental/physical limits through mountaineering and other challenging activities. Talentowski has balanced the demands of a full- and part-time job, alongside a full course load, developing strong time management skills and resilience. He is eager to begin a career in the field of wealth management and believes the discipline and perseverance attained from his academic studies and outdoor adventures will be instrumental in reaching new heights in both his professional and personal life.  

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Emily Mosley plans to be a DNA forensic analyst at the Greeley Regional Forensic Lab after graduation. She is the president of ¹ú²úAV’s Esports & Gaming Club, providing a place for students to connect and have fun. Mosley also conducts research with Biology Professor Mitchell McGlaughlin, Ph.D., using DNA to help identify new plant species and progress environmental conservation. When she is not working or on campus, she enjoys fishing, gaming with friends and scuba diving during the warmer months. 

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Samantha Heppenstall is graduating with dual degrees in Theatre Studies and English, with minors in Writing and Japanese. She is an aspiring theatre director who also nurtures passions in acting, writing and art, and is excited to begin an apprenticeship with Curious Theatre Company post-graduation. She would like to thank her parents, for believing in her, her siblings, for humoring her, and ¹ú²úAV’s School of Theatre Art & Design community for their endless inspiration. 

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Katia Gorgone was born and raised in Paris, France and came to the United States for a one-year exchange student program when she was 17. After returning to France to finish high school, she came back to the U.S., making it her permanent home in 1995. Gorgone started taking classes at a community college in California but dropped out due to the high cost of international student tuition. She eventually married, had two children and moved to Colorado in 2009. After a divorce, she decided to go back to school. Gorgone loved her experience teaching French at a charter school, so she enrolled at ¹ú²úAV in the fall of 2021 to get her degree in education.  

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During her time at ¹ú²úAV, Julia Martin studied Political Science, Legal Studies and Human Resources. She plans on continuing her education by attending law school. She is heavily involved on campus. She served two terms in Student Government as a senator, interned with the Bears Vote Coalition and worked at the tutoring center as a supplemental instruction and peer tutor.