SUU Celebrates Class of 2021 with Commencement Ceremonies
Published: May 01, 2021 | Author: Kenzie Lundberg | Read Time: 2 minutes
In an effort to promote COVID-19 health and safety guidelines, Southern Utah University held two commencement ceremonies to honor the 2,361 graduates of the Class of 2021. Both ceremonies featured an address from Utah businesswoman and philanthropist Gail Miller.
Addressing the graduating class, SUU President Scott L Wyatt said, “You will have wonderful moments, glorious triumphs, beautiful relationships, and indescribable joys. But these are only made possible by overcoming difficulties. Happiness is meaningless to a person who has never been sad. Sunrise always follows darkness. Winter eventually always gives way to spring. And today—it is spring. It is your spring. Enjoy it.”
Gail Miller, owner of the Larry H. Miller Group of Companies and chair of the Board of Directors of Larry H. Miller Management Corporation, gave the keynote address for both Friday and Saturday ceremonies. She presides over the Larry H. Miller Education Foundation and the Larry H. and Gail Miller Family Foundation, which support a wide range of charitable, educational, and humanitarian causes. For her contributions to the state of Utah, Miller was awarded an honorary doctorate.
“This mountaintop you stand on today allows you to see forever and now you have fresh choices to make,” said Gail Miller. “This is the crest from which you will make those important decisions that will literally shape the future: yours, mine and quite possibly the future of the whole world. There is nothing as constant as change and you can be the change you want the world to see.”
Two other honorary doctorate degree recipients, Carine Strom Clark and Garth Frehner, were honored previous to the commencement ceremonies at the annual Commencement Banquet. These honorees were selected by the SUU Board of Trustees after discussion on individuals who have had a positive impact on the university, excelled in their chosen fields, and provided service to society.
Clark currently serves as the chair of the Governor’s Economic Development Board and has fashioned a storied career in technology in Utah as well as globally. Frehner, who through extraordinary vision coupled with hard work, built a company that, in turn, built the economy and infrastructure of Utah and beyond.
Along with President Wyatt and Miller, two student speakers addressed the 2021 graduates. Pre-med graduate Sipho Ncube served as the student speaker for Friday’s ceremony. A highly accomplished student, Ncube was featured on the 200 Young South Africans list in 2020 and is a two-time winner of the “Achievement of the Year” at the Thunderbird Awards. She is the first African student in SUU history to speak at a graduation ceremony.
Exercise science graduate Ajhamae Quiring served as the student speaker for Saturday’s ceremony. Also an accomplished student, Quiring served as an intern at the Cardiac Rehab Facility at the St. George Regional Hospital, and plans to continue working in disease prevention.
The class of 2021 came to SUU from 36 countries, 40 U.S. states and all 29 Utah counties. The graduates were awarded 596 master’s degrees, 1,473 bachelor’s degrees and 276 associate degrees during the ceremonies.
Tags: Graduation