By Valerie Fields Hill
School of Social Work
More than 200 Social Work majors received their graduate and undergraduate degrees during fall commencement ceremonies Saturday at Globe Life Field in Arlington.
The 234 graduates included 167 who earned their Master of Social Work degrees and 67 who earned a Bachelor of Social Work. The Fall 2021 graduates now join more than 12,000 Social Work alumni, administrators said.
Saturday’s event was the final among four in-person commencement ceremonies that the University of Texas at Arlington held last week. In total, the university conferred diplomas on more than 5,400 fall graduates from departments and professional schools across its campus. The other three ceremonies were held Thursday and Friday.
Saturday’s graduation, which began at 10 a.m., included graduates from the colleges of Liberal Arts and Business, along with the Social Work graduates. Jo Trizila, chief executive officer of Trizcom Public Relations and a 1995 alumna, was commencement speaker.
Senior Associate Dean Dr. Debra Woody commended the graduates during a departmental Celebration of Excellence two weeks ago for their perseverance during the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic, which ushered in a shutdown of the university campus and a shift to virtual classes to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus.
“Many of you graduating this semester, particularly our MSW students, completed all or most of your studies during the pandemic,” Dr. Woody told the graduating honor students during the school’s virtual Celebration of Excellence on Nov. 30.
“I really commend you on your resolve and steadfastness,” she said. “You have shown and proven your resilience over the last two years.”
UTA Interim President Teik C. Lim also commended the graduates.
“We always have been steadfast in our ultimate goal: graduating students to be productive members of our community and leaders in Texas and beyond,” he said in a university news release.
“I’m so proud of our students for accomplishing their goals.”
Among the featured activities during Saturday’s commencement was the awarding of a degree posthumously.
This weekend’s ceremonies included the following Social Work honor graduates:
Summa Cum Laude
Naomi David Akuanyionwu
Peggy Camp
Angela Veronica Estrada
Desiree Chazany Fanner
Toni Aimee Ovina Gallegos
Dione Richelle Jackson
Abigail Suzanne Jarrett
Candice Jones
Leslie Plascencia Lorenzana
Elizabeth Irene Mederos
Georgine T. Mwamba
Susana Olvera
Keisha Jacqueline Victoria Revill
Katie Bliss Tackett
Kristel Vara
Elysia Yvette Villalobos
Magna Cum Laude
Samantha Torres Anderson
Jasmine Gina Appiah-Kubi
Claudia Veronica Delacruz
Jacob Alexander Guerara
Mariah Johnson
Dominique Kennedy
Gloria Marie Lanning
Heather Loftice
Purity Ann Wanjiru Mathenge
Madeline Perez
Jacob Ignacio Rodriguez
Daniella Salazar
Katina Shuey
Eric Demon Simmons
Ti’Aunah Staples
Cum Laude
Egbe Felicita Ashu
Karen Vannesa Cortez
Ashley Nicole Flores
Yaritza Lourdes Gloria
Natalie Kay Kirksey
Erika Miranda Escobedo
Ana Katarina Moore
Lorraine Chantel Mossiah
Synniece Preston
Krystallyn Mateja Reed
Haneen Mohammad Salem
Jocelin Arely Sanchez
Kashly Nicole Smith
Margaret Nicole Strickland
Karen Villasana
To see the Fall 2021 program, click here:
https://www.uta.edu/commencement/ceremonies/in-person-ceremony
Click here to watch the Fall 2021 School of Social Work commencement exercises:
https://www.uta.edu/commencement/ceremonies/in-person-ceremony/cob-cola-ssw