360 to graduate at UOG's virtual commencement on Thursday

360 to graduate at UOG's virtual commencement on Thursday

360 to graduate at UOG's virtual commencement on Thursday


6/17/2020

UOG President Thomas W. Krise
UOG President Thomas W. Krise gives opening remarks at the University of Guam commencement ceremony on Dec. 22.

U.S. Ambassador Yuri Kim
U.S. Ambassador Yuri Kim will deliver the commencement address on June 18.

The University of Guam will confer degrees to 360 graduates at its Fañomnåkan Commencement Ceremony this Thursday. The number marks the university’s second largest graduating class in history, following May 2019 with 375 graduates. It also marks a record-high number of master’s degrees conferred by the university within an academic year with a total of 144 master’s degrees in 2019–2020.

The ceremony will be held virtually due to safety precautions with the COVID-19 pandemic. It will be streamed at 7 p.m. on Thursday, June 18, on the UOG Facebook page.

The virtual ceremony will include remarks from President Thomas W. Krise and Senior Vice President and Provost Anita Borja Enriquez as well as a keynote speech by former Guam resident U.S. Ambassador Yuri Kim. Kim is the first Korean-American woman and the first person from Guam to be a U.S. ambassador.

Class of 2020 Valedictorian

The graduates will also hear from Class of 2020 Valedictorian Megan Gimmen. A Merit Scholar from Okkodo High School, Gimmen enrolled at UOG in 2016. While pursuing a double major in biology and chemistry, Gimmen participated in a three-year research mentorship program called BUILD EXITO and spent two summers interning at the National Institutes of Health in Maryland. She also interned locally at the Skilled Nursing Unit of Guam Memorial Hospital.

Class of 2020 Valedictorian Megan Gimmen
Class of 2020 Valedictorian Megan Gimmen
Her involvement on campus included being part of the Biological Sciences Club and Chemistry Club and serving as president and vice president, respectively, of the UOG student chapters of the Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science and the American Medical Student Association.

Gimmen has been accepted into a selective two-year premedical program at Johns Hopkins University, where she will gain further mentorship and research experience prior to applying to medical school.

For complete details on the commencement ceremony, visit https://www.uog.edu/commencements/fanomnakan-2020/.