As the semester came to a close, a group of Valenti students celebrated moving on to their next chapter at the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences Spring 2023 Commencement Ceremony.
On Thursday, May 11th, over 170 students at the Jack J. Valenti School of Communication walked across the stage and turned the tassels on their graduation caps. As there is no commencement ceremony in the Summer, 30 of those pending graduates also walked.
Applications to graduate in the Summer are still open until July 22 and currently, there are 42 applicants pending to add to the 184 students under review for Spring, according to Program Manager II Trever Thomas.
Every Valenti major was represented in the Feritita Center that morning. Students like Esmeralda Alvarez, who graduated with a Bachelor’s in advertising shared how special commencement was for her and her loved ones.
“My favorite memory was getting to see my family cheer me on as I walked the stage,” Alvarez said.
Moving on to do great things now that her time at Valenti is done, Alvarez was selected as a Maip Fellow for the summer to intern as a social strategist at Archer Malmo.
Other students walking the stage, like strategic communication graduate Denise Miller, had friends and family cheering her on.
“My favorite memory was screaming and cheering for my friends as they walked across the stage,” Miller said. “I was very lucky and a majority of my friends have the same commencement ceremony as me. We were able to sit together, and it made the experience that much more enjoyable.”
With all the photos taken throughout that day, Miller said seeing herself on the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences social media pages felt great.
“Following graduation, I saw our group picture posted on UH CLASS social media and it was just a great feeling to be done with college and share that moment with the people who went through it with you,” Miller said.
Miller previously had an internship since the Fall with PR Boutique Houston and is accepting a full-time position as an account coordinator now that she has graduated.
Graduates could reminisce on moments they had with Valenti before commencement.
“My favorite Valenti memory was Valenti Fest,” said journalism graduate Savannah Smithson. “A lot of Valenti students and staff were there, along with all of the communications-based clubs. I enjoyed getting to talk to classmates, as well as people I hadn’t talked to before.”
Smithson worked with the Young Alumni Association before as a student liaison to the Valenti Alumni Board and is excited to join as an alumna herself now.
“Commencement was a lot of fun,” Smithson said. “It was a nice way to celebrate a major transition and I loved seeing the Valenti staff there to support everyone.”
Congratulations to all the Valenti students who graduated, we cannot wait to see what you do next!