Fall 2022 commencement: ‘Our graduates are thriving’
Thousands of Mavericks will cross the stage and into the next phase of their academic and professional journeys at The University of Texas at Arlington’s commencement ceremonies, scheduled for Friday, Dec. 16, at Globe Life Field.
UTA received nearly 4,700 graduation applications for fall 2022 commencement, and these newest Maverick graduates will join an alumni network that’s more than 250,000 strong. Maverick graduates are everywhere, including at each of the 23 Fortune 500 companies headquartered in North Texas and in the thousands of smaller businesses and nonprofits that are key to this region’s economic success.
Ninety-five students are expected to earn their doctorates at this fall’s commencement, including nearly three times as many Black doctoral students as a year ago, 40% more College of Nursing and Health Innovation doctoral students and 21% more female doctoral students than fall 2021.
“Our graduates are thriving, with the highest first-year starting salaries of graduates from any UT system university,” said Jennifer Cowley, UTA’s president. “We will continue to champion access and affordability so that thousands of students can experience the transformational power of a UTA education.”
Jasmine Young is earning her second degree from UTA—and launching her second career. She studied history and Mexican American studies in her first trip through UTA, graduating in 2016. She then taught high school history, geography and Latin American studies in Irving.
Despite working a full-time job and raising her 7-year-old daughter as a single parent, Young returned to school a year ago. She took classes on nights and weekends and is now graduating with an economics degree. She recently started a new job in wealth management and assets at JP Morgan Chase, and she’s not done yet: Young said she plans to pursue her master’s in business administration.
“UTA has contributed so much to my success in my life,” she said. “It has allowed me to create lasting relationships with fellow students and professors.”
Another graduate, Neemekh (Dani) Mudvari, is graduating with a broadcast journalism degree and has a job waiting with Telemundo Houston. His parents sent him to the United States from Mexico to work, attend college and take care of his younger brother, who accompanied him to Texas. Mudvari earned a full scholarship through UTA’s Hispanic Media Initiative (HMI).
“I owe it all to my parents and to HMI Director Julian Rodriguez,” Mudvari said.
Kyairra Burns planned to major in exercise science until she told a College of Nursing and Health Innovation administrator about how she survived childhood cancer. The administrator told her she should consider public health. Burns took the advice and will soon begin a job with a nonprofit organization that works with critically ill children.
“My professors were so hands-on,” she said. “You can go to them with just about anything you have going on and they will help.”
That was Ana Enriquez’s experience as well. A few hours before her first graduate class in 2020, she learned she was pregnant and considered quitting the program. Instead, her professors helped make sure she could stay on track through pregnancy and motherhood. Enriquez is graduating with her master’s in communication, even while she continues to work as a public relations specialist for the city of Grand Prairie.
“I really have to say thanks for the support of my professors and my family,” she said.
Commencement schedule
Dec. 16, 2022
- 9:30 a.m.: College of Nursing and Health Innovation. Speaker is Carolyn Mentesana, executive director of the Arlington Tomorrow Foundation and a 1984 UTA alumna.
- 2 p.m.: College of Business, College of Education, and College of Science. Speaker is Mentesana.
- 6:30 p.m. College of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs; College of Engineering; College of Liberal Arts; Division of Student Success (University Studies); Honors College (Interdisciplinary Studies); and School of Social Work. Speaker is Trey Yelverton, Arlington city manager and a 1988 UTA alumnus.