CR to award 498 degrees or certificates during commencement Saturday on Eureka campus

College of the Redwoods will award a total of 498 degrees and/or certificates Saturday morning, May 14, during College of the Redwoods Eureka campus’ commencement ceremony.
The graduation event will take place at 11 a.m. in the CR Gymnasium on the main Eureka campus. There will be 157 associate of arts degrees, 155 associate of science degrees and 86 certificates of achievement given to the students. There are 434 graduates from the Eureka campus.  A special registered nursing pinning ceremony will take place at 1:30 p.m., also in the CR gym. Fifty students will celebrate the completion of their RN program.
“Commencement is a very special day, not only for the graduates and their families, but also for the faculty, staff and administrators,” said CR Interim President Utpal Goswami. “It provides us great personal satisfaction that we were able to contribute to the success of our graduates. On behalf of the CR community, I wish the very best to our graduates.”
For the main graduation ceremony, CR is expecting a capacity crowd of at least 1,200 people including graduates, their guests, faculty and staff.  This year, CR gave each graduate five guest tickets. For potential guests who do not have ticket, there will be a live video broadcast of the commencement in the CR Forum Theater. CR will also stream the event live on its website at www.redwoods.edu and broadcast it on Access Humboldt Suddenlink cable TV channel 8.
District-wide, including the Del Norte Education Center in Crescent City, the Mendocino Coast Education Center in Fort Bragg and the Klamath-Trinity Instructional Site in Hoopa, a total of 653 degrees and/or certificates will be awarded this academic year:  337 associate of arts degrees; 182 associate of science degrees; and 134 certificates of achievement. The total number of graduates throughout the CR District is 583. Each center and the K-T Site have their own commencement event. Last year District-wide, CR awarded a total of 564 degrees and certificates. 
No parking permits will be required during commencement. Flowers will be for sale in the gym lobby with the proceeds to benefit the CR Alumni Association.
CR special guest speaker Kevin Haynes, co-founder of the A Warrior Wish Foundation, will deliver an address to the graduates. The foundation is an all-volunteer, non-profit organization that grants final wishes to terminally ill veterans from all branches of the U.S. military.  Haynes enlisted in the U.S. Army and trained as a combat medic. He was deployed to Operation Just Cause in Panama in 1989 and later served in the Middle East during Operation Desert Storm.
President Goswami will welcome the students and their guests and pass out diplomas to the graduates along with CR Board of Trustees members Bruce Emad, Dr. Colleen Mullery, Barbara Rice and George Truett.    
CR District-wide valedictorian Aaron Davis, who has attended the CR Eureka campus for the past three years, will deliver an address to the students. The CR District-wide salutatorian Marie Champagne, from the CR Mendocino Coast Education Center, will lead the pledge of allegiance.
CR Professor David Holper, co-president of the Academic Senate, will present the awards for the outstanding faculty and associate faculty of the year, honors which are voted on by their peers.
Student leadership awards will be announced by Rebecca Ashbach, the CR student trustee.  
            During the registered nursing pinning ceremony, CR Dean of Health Occupations and Public Service Pat Girczyc will welcome the graduates and their guests.
            “These students couldn’t have accomplished this without a great deal of support,” Girczyc said. “Heartfelt thanks to the community members who shared their hospital experiences with our students and to the registered nurses and health care professionals throughout the area for being mentors and role models.”
            RN student Donica Byers will speak at the pinning ceremony.