About 2,500 students are expected to graduate during the Fall 2019 commencement. The ceremonies will take place Dec. 13 in the Harlingen Convention Center and Dec. 14 in the Bert Ogden Arena in Edinburg.
As previously reported by The Rider, Brownsville graduates will attend the ceremony in Harlingen and Edinburg graduates in Edinburg. Harlingen students can choose which location to attend.
University Registrar Sofia Montes said students can request to change their locations but the Office of the University Registrar is reviewing them on an ad hoc basis.
“So far, we have been able to accommodate all requests to the ceremonies,” Montes said. “Whether it was from Edinburg to Harlingen or from Harlingen to Edinburg. At this time, they can request it, but we’re reviewing them on a case-by-case basis.”
Montes said tickets for the commencement ceremony will be distributed from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. this week at U Central on both campuses.
She said students will receive an email with information on where to check in and park in both the Harlingen and Edinburg venues.
Students participating are required to purchase proper graduation regalia from the University Bookstore.
Graduating exercise science senior Gabriel Figueroa will attend the ceremony in Harlingen after first enrolling at UTRGV in the Fall 2016 semester.
Figueroa encourages incoming freshmen to network in their early years of college.
“Find your rhythm early on,” he said. “Get into your groove because if you’re already a year or two in and you’re still in a rut, as far as whether you want to continue the major you’re in, it’s going to come back and bite you.”
After graduation, Figueroa will pursue a master’s in exercise science in the College of Health Professions.
Six tickets will be given to graduates for the Harlingen Convention Center and nine for the Bert Ogden Arena.
“The venue in Edinburg is much bigger, so we’re able to actually accommodate more students and more guests,” Montes said. “We wanted to maximize this, so we thought we’d give as many tickets as the venue allowed for. The Harlingen Convention Center is smaller, so the most number of tickets we can give with the anticipated number of graduates is six. So, it’s purely about the size and capacity.”
In Harlingen, the ceremony will commence at 9 a.m. for the College of Liberal Arts.
At noon, the Robert C. Vackar College of Business & Entrepreneurship, College of Engineering and Computer Science, College of Health Professions, School of Nursing and School of Social Work ceremony will take place.
The last ceremony, at 3 p.m., includes the College of Education and P-16 Integration, College of Fine Arts and the College of Sciences.
In Edinburg, the first ceremony will take place at 9 a.m. for the Robert C. Vackar College of Business & Entrepreneurship, College of Health Professions, School of Nursing and School of Social Work.
At 1 p.m., the College of Education and P-16 Integration, College of Engineering and Computer Science and the College of Sciences ceremony will take place.
The last ceremony is at 5 p.m. for the College of Fine Arts and the College of Liberal Arts.
“The registrar’s office is very happy to coordinate commencement activities again,” Montes said. “It’s easily one of the best events that we assist with every year. Definitely the most exciting, so we’re very proud of all our graduates and we want to sincerely congratulate them for all their efforts and hard work.”
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