Maryville University’s Commencement Will Honor Some 900 Graduates
5/1/12
Maryville University President Mark Lombardi will confer academic degrees for hundreds of students during an outdoor spring commencement set for 10 a.m. Saturday, May 5, on campus. In the event of inclement weather, the ceremony will move inside and students and guests will find updates on the University’s website.
St. Louis Juvenile Judge Jimmie Edwards, known nationally for his work developing an alternative school for troubled youth in St. Louis, will deliver the commencement address. Edwards will receive Maryville University’s John E. Simon Civic Service Award, named in honor of the late St. Louis businessman, philanthropist and Maryville University Trustee.
Maryville has more than 900 candidates for degrees this spring, with 603 students set to earn undergraduate degrees, 218 to earn master’s degrees and 91 who have finished work for doctoral degrees.
One graduation candidate Evadine Cheryl Houck of Godfrey, Ill., has earned her bachelor’s degree in music therapy at age 68. She previously had a bachelor’s in music education, but after retiring as a music teacher and coordinator of a music preparatory program, she wanted to learn more about the therapeutic uses for music. She jokes that other students on campus call her “Grandma Cheryl,” a fitting title for the mother of four children and 12 grandchildren. She’ll do a Hospice and Bereavement internship this summer, where she’ll use her music therapy education. Houck says she commuted 80 miles a day to attend class at Maryville. “It’s worth every mile,” she said of her Maryville experience.
Another graduate, 22-year-old Rachael Havey, of Waterloo, Ill., will pursue a master’s degree in illustration at the State University of New York in New York City after she graduates from Maryville. In her last days as an undergraduate, she and other graphic design students have painted windows outside the site of the future National Blues Museum in downtown St. Louis. It has been a way to put her education into practice before graduation. “It has been an amazing experience,” she said.
Commencement broadcast
Maryville University has arranged to stream commencement live over the Internet. The link to watch commencement is http://www.livegraduations.com/maryville/
Additional commencement details are available here: https://www.maryville.edu/academics-registrar-commencement.htm
About Maryville
Maryville has more than 23,500 alumni. Founded in 1872, Maryville University moved to the national universities category of U.S. News & World Report this year. It is one of three institutions in the Greater St. Louis Area ranked in the division. Kiplinger’s Personal Finances ranks Maryville in the Top 100 Private Universities in the U.S. for Best Value.