It's the first Fanuchanan (Fall) Commencement
After renaming the Fall semester to Fanuchånan earlier this year, the University of Guam celebrated the accomplishments of its graduates during the first Fanuchånan 2017 Commencement Ceremony held at the UOG Calvo Field House Sunday. UOG conferred 280 degrees—216 undergraduate degrees and 64 graduate degrees, making this the largest graduating class of any Fall or Fanuchånan Commencement Ceremony. Nearly half of the total graduates came from the UOG School of Business and Public Administration, which conferred 105 undergraduate degrees in Business Administration, Accounting, Public Administration, and Criminal Justice and 30 graduate degrees from its Master of Public Administration and Professional Master of Business Administration programs. An “inheritance and a challenge”
In his welcoming remarks, UOG President Robert Underwood shared examples of UOG alumni making a difference in the world, and reminded the graduates of attitudes and values that the University passed on to them: “responsibility, commitment and problem-solving.” “This is your year and this is your opportunity to create earthquakes large and small, to challenge the status quo, to not let elected officials shortchange you or your education. Do not let alternate facts and misrepresentations carry the day. Bring integrity and honesty to the spirit of concern for others into everything we do,” said Underwood.
Commencement Speaker The Honorable Ralph Torres, Governor of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, was the Commencement speaker and challenged the graduates to fight for themselves and their futures. “You are stronger today than you were yesterday,” Torres said. “The only thing that prevents you from going from where you are now to the greatness you are capable of is your own willingness to fight for yourself—to do the hard work that is necessary, to turn those weaknesses into strengths, and to realize that no one will be willing to fight for you more than you are willing to fight for yourself.”