UNLV commencement largest in school history

By Amanda Finnegan

Saturday, May 8, 2010 | 1:57 p.m.

The Thomas & Mack Center was full of pomp and circumstance Saturday morning as UNLV celebrated its 48th commencement. Between the morning and afternoon ceremonies, UNLV was expected to hand out about 2,900 degrees to the largest graduation class in university history.

For many, the day marked the culmination of thousands of hours of hard work and dedication. Some were graduating as young 20-somethings, ready to face the adult world for the first time, and others were completing a lifelong journey. The ages of the spring 2010 graduating class ranged from 19 to 70.

Stephanie Olivares, a mother of four, finished a journey at UNLV on Saturday that she started more than 15 years ago. A native Las Vegan, Olivares recounted her first experiences at UNLV as a high school student attending a summer program during her undergraduate commencement speech.

Olivares talked about an anthropology course she attended during the summer program and its lasting effect on her. Olivares said it taught her that people are more alike than they are different.

“It’s been nearly two decades since that first experience at UNLV,” Olivares said. “Since then, my perspective on life has expanded because of my education here.”

Graduate commencement speaker Nathan Hawley spoke about the value of education during his speech. Hawley said while the value of education can be measured in economics and by societal and personal values, education has the ability to do much more.

“Education has the power to change the world,” Hawley said. “One, it allows us to change ourselves and two, it allows us to change our surroundings.”

UNLV President Neal Smatresk noted during his remarks that the 2010 graduating class is one of the most diverse in UNLV history, with students hailing for 34 different countries. About 58 percent of graduates were women, 42 percent were men and about 20 gradates were over the age of 60, Smatresk said.

Among the others honored during the commencement ceremony, Las Vegas Sands Chairman and Chief Executive Sheldon Adelson and his wife, Dr. Miriam Adelson, were honored as distinguished Nevadans.

UNLV honored Sarann Preddy, the first black woman to hold a gaming license in Nevada, with an honorary degree during Saturday's ceremony. Preddy has been a member of the Las Vegas community since the 1940s and has owned several lounges and gaming establishments, including the famous Moulin Rouge.

Friends and family filled the venue normally reserved for concerts and basketball games to support their graduates. Some graduates stuck to the traditional graduation garb whiles others donned flower leis and chose to add a personal touches to their caps.

Sorority sisters Carly Cinkovich and Sarah Pepper both studded their caps with rhinestones. Pepper decorated hers with a chili pepper for her last name, while Cinkovich chose the UNLV logo in red and silver jewels.

The two friends were both graduating from the Harrah Hotel College but are going in separate directions to attend graduate school in other states next year.

“I’m excited but it’s going to be sad not coming back in the fall,” Pepper said.

“I think it’ll start to hit me next month,” Cinkovich added.

Dental school graduates Matt Schofield and Jeremy Cox both said Saturday marked the end of a tiring four years of hard work.

“It’s been a long journey. It’s really bittersweet because I spent more time with these guys than I did with my own family,” Cox said of his classmates. “You go to class with them. You study with them. It’s going to be hard to get everybody together once they're gone.”

Schofield said he planned to buy a practice in the Las Vegas area while Cox will be continuing school in Omaha, Neb., for pediatric dentistry.

Smatresk noted the dental school students commitment to the community in his remarks Saturday. He said the school’s clinic for low-income families and veterans served more than 2,700 people this academic year.

A native of the small Caribbean island of Dominica, Ordene Edwards spent six years at UNLV finishing up her master’s and doctorate in educational psychology. Her research on goal orientation has been published by two top research journals and she has three manuscripts in progress.

She was one of eight graduates noted as “outstanding graduates” during Saturday’s ceremony.

“I’m über excited about it," Edwards said of the honor. "I’ve been through so much and I’ve worked so hard. I just feel really honored.”

She recently accepted a job as an assistant professor at Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas. And after today, she’ll need to be addressed as Dr. Ordene Edwards.