Providing an infusion of highly employable students into the global workforce, ASU celebrated a record University Commencement Day on May 6 with nearly 20,700 undergraduate and graduate Sun Devils earning their degrees.
Boasting degrees ranging from astrophysics to English to public service, the largest graduating class in ASU history also included 6,900 students who achieved master’s degrees or PhDs, a 17 percent increase over spring 2023. And several colleges enjoyed significant increases in students graduating, including the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering with more than 4,800 graduates, up 16 percent, and the Edson College of Nursing and Health Innovation with about 800, up 18 percent.
Graduates from these and other ASU colleges are helping to shore up key areas for Arizona, such as the workforce needs of the state’s burgeoning semiconductor industry and the urgent shortage of nurses. And the university’s graduates are among the world’s most employable: A recent survey of international employers ranked ASU the No. 2 public and the No. 13 overall university in the U.S., and No. 34 worldwide, for employable graduates.
Meet some of ASU’s highly employable (and many already employed!) graduates:
After graduation, Raquel Lopez Anchia will begin her engineering career at Intel Corp. With Fab Construction Enterprise as the demolition project manager, she will help build Intel's new factory in Ocotillo. She said her time at ASU helped her become more confident and grow into who she is today.
“At ASU I was able to find what I love to do,” said Lopez Anchia, who is graduating with a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering from the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering. “Holding leadership positions in student organizations and meeting so many new people, I found that leadership is not only something I enjoy, but it is also my passion.”
Dominique Joseph, who is graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in fashion, followed her passion to ASU. She said she has always loved putting outfits together and how fashion allows you to “express yourself nonverbally through clothing,” but she wanted to explore the industry beyond designing and styling — which is why she chose the fashion business management track offered at ASU FIDM.
Thanks to her education at ASU and an internship last summer, she is headed to a position as an assistant buyer at the Ross Stores Inc. corporate buying office in Los Angeles this fall.
“Honestly all the knowledge that I learned throughout the program — just being aware of what the fashion industry is doing, like reading articles all the time and having to analyze them in class, was really helpful to be able to speak to certain things throughout the internship and put everything together,” she said.
Another impressive graduate, Charmaine Chien-Yu Chui, will be the youngest in the history of the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at just 19 years old. After externships at the U.S. Attorney's Office in the District of Arizona, the Central District of California Bankruptcy Court, the Arizona Court of Appeals and the U.S. Department of Justice, she will take on a new role as a judicial law clerk at the Arizona Supreme Court after graduating with her Juris Doctor.
“When I was applying to law schools, I knew I wanted to attend a school where I could get to know my professors and would not be stuck in giant lecture halls as a student ID number,” she said. “The smaller class sizes at ASU Law meant that I always felt welcome talking to my professors. … I'm so glad to have been able to enjoy the community of a ‘smaller’ school while still having access to the courses and externship opportunities that allowed me to pursue a public service career.”
ASU’s spring graduating class includes nearly 14,000 campus immersion students and more than 6,700 who earned their degree online. It's a milestone year for ASU Online: This summer, the university’s 100,000th online graduate will earn their degree.
During ASU’s Undergraduate Commencement, Walter F. Parkes, critically acclaimed film producer and co-founder and chairman of Dreamscape Learn, received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters. The degree was officially bestowed during the ceremony the evening of Monday, May 6, at Mountain America Stadium on the Tempe campus. Graduate Commencement was celebrated earlier in the day at Desert Financial Arena in Tempe.
The two commencements headlined a week filled with ceremonies honoring students’ accomplishments. There are 20 college-specific convocations and 10 special-interest ceremonies in metro Phoenix, including the Hispanic Convocation, celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. Over 4,100 graduates identifying as Hispanic/Latino were expected to earn degrees. Forty years ago at the inaugural Hispanic Convocation, ASU graduated only 49.
Parkes was presented with a Doctor of Humane Letters (Honoris Causa), an honorary degree given in recognition to those who have made significant contributions to society through humanitarian and philanthropic work. As a screenwriter, producer and former studio head, Parkes has been responsible for some of the most iconic motion pictures in film history — movies that span popular genres while demonstrating a commitment to artistic and intellectual integrity. Following a four-decade career punctuated by critical acclaim and commercial success, Parkes turned his attention to education and is the co-founder and executive chairman of Dreamscape Learn, an education technology company that combines advanced pedagogy, virtual reality technologies and the power of emotional cinematic narrative to meaningfully improve learning outcomes.
Films produced or executive produced by Parkes with longtime partner Laurie Macdonald have garnered numerous awards and grossed more than $6 billion worldwide, including “Gladiator,” “Minority Report,” the “Men in Black” series, “Flight,” “Catch Me If You Can,” “Sweeney Todd,” “Amistad,” “He Named Me Malala,” “Free Solo” and others. As a screenwriter, Parkes is widely acknowledged as a pioneer, along with writing partner Lawrence Lasker, in the development of the "tech-thriller" genre beginning with “WarGames,” an Oscar nominee for best original screenplay, and “Sneakers,” starring Robert Redford.
As the founding co-heads of DreamWorks Studios, Parkes and MacDonald were responsible for the development and production of the studio’s diverse slate of films that included, for only the second time in Motion Picture Academy history, three consecutive best picture Oscar winners: “American Beauty,” “Gladiator” and “A Beautiful Mind.”
Beyond serving as executive chairman, Parkes is also creative director of Dreamscape Learn and is responsible for overseeing the creation of its educational content. His experience in education includes serving on the Yale University Council for 10 years, and as the council’s president for four years. He is a director for Para Los Niños, a service organization that operates three charter schools in downtown Los Angeles.
ASU graduation ceremonies can be rewatched on the ASU Live channel.
Read more: ASU grads advised to "create new things."
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