Commencement Keynote Speaker
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Anita L. DeFrantz, an Olympic medalist and community activist, will give the 2008 Commencement speech.
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Anita L. DeFrantz
The Mount celebrates Commencement 2008 on May 12 with speaker Anita L. DeFrantz, an Olympic medalist, community activist, and the first woman in the history of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to serve as its vice president.
Graduation ceremonies will be held at the Gibson Amphitheatre in Universal City, Calif., and will include associate, bachelor’s, master’s, doctorate, and certificate programs.
DeFrantz is an attorney and a member of the IOC and the 1976 and 1980 Olympic teams. She is president of the board of directors of the LA84 Foundation, which is managing Southern California’s endowment from the 1984 Olympic Games.
“Anita DeFrantz is an inspiring leader who has set the bar high for women around the globe,” said Mount President Jacqueline Powers Doud. “She is truly a role model for our students—and shows that one person can make a difference both on the larger stage and in our own community.”
In addition to earning a bronze medal for rowing in the 1976 Games, DeFrantz won a silver medal in the 1978 world championships, was a finalist in the world championships four times, and won six national championships.
DeFrantz is chair of the IOC’s Women and Sport Commission and the IOC Athletes’ Commission Election Committee. She is also a member of a number of other IOC commissions, including the Coordination Commission for the London 2012 Olympic Games.
DeFrantz was named one of “L.A.’s Most Powerful Sports Executives” in 2005 by the Los Angeles Business Journal. In 2003, Sports Illustrated named her one of the “101 Most Influential Minorities in Sports.”
She is also the recipient of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund’s Black Woman of Achievement Award, the NAACP Jackie Robinson Sports Achievement Award, and the Essence magazine Award for Sports
2008 Academic Program Greeters
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Ocaidy Hunziker - Associate in Arts, Business Administration
The first in her family to attend college, Ocaidy Hunziker will be attending the Bachelor of Arts Program at Chalon to pursue a double major in business administration and political science. Her career plans include becoming a lawyer and founding a nonprofit to serve homeless families, particularly those with a family member suffering from mental illness. Hunziker served as president of the Doheny Associated Student Body. She credits her self-confidence to her experiences at the Mount—and spoke at a recent Admitted Student Day to encourage incoming students to make the most of their time during college.
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Michele Pride - Associate in Arts, Nursing
After completing the Associate in Arts program, where she majored in liberal studies and graduated with honors, Michele Pride enrolled in the Mount’s Associate Degree in Nursing Program. An active participant in the program, she served as a representative from the Nursing Department to welcome and orient students from the College’s sister school in Japan. Michele plans to pursue a career in pediatric critical care nursing and continue her education at the Mount in the Associate to Master’s Nursing program. Pride says she is extremely grateful to the extraordinary faculty she has encountered and looks forward to the opportunities her future now holds because she is a Mount St. Mary’s College graduate.
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Taline Hanna - Bachelor of Arts, Business Administration
Taline Hanna is graduating with a baccalaureate degree in business administration, with an emphasis in management. After transferring to the Mount in spring 2006 from Santa Monica College, Hanna got involved in student government. She first served as a junior senator and then eventually served as the student body president, among other leadership positions. After graduation, Hanna will begin an internship at Boeing in Long Beach, Calif., as a supplier manager in the Integrated Defense Systems Department. After a year of experience in the workforce, she plans to apply to graduate schools to pursue an MBA and a doctorate degree.
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Riley Allen Wilkinson - Bachelor of Arts, English
Weekend College graduate Riley Wilkinson has worked in the educational toys and games industries for the last 12 years, currently working as art director of packaging and product development for Educational Insights in Rancho Dominguez, Calif. Wilkinson’s interests include writing, reading, travel, horticulture, design, and painting—with literature being his newest love, inspired by the Mount’s intensive English program. Earning a BA in English literature has been a lifelong dream for Wilkinson, who is now enrolled in the Mount’s Master's in Humanities Program, with an emphasis in creative writing.
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Lesa Weinberg-Millard - Master of Science, Education
Twenty years after earning a bachelor's degree in business, Lesa Weinberg-Millard returned to college to earn her Preliminary Multiple Subjects Teaching Credential and her master's in elementary education—earning a 4.0 GPA in the process. She has also been teaching for more than six years. Working in private education while going to school has given her a hands-on opportunity to practice what she has learned in class at the Mount. She currently teaches a combined third/fourth grade class and is student-government moderator for the school. Weinberg-Millard plans to earn her Professional Clear Credential at the Mount next year.
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2008 Baccalaureate Class Tribute
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Danielle Batol - Bachelor of Arts, Business Administration and Psychology
Danielle Batol is a double major in psychology and business administration, with minors in leadership and women’s studies and American studies. Believing in the Mount’s spirit of both education and service, Batol served as a VIP coordinator for Admission events and, as a Women’s Leadership Scholar, volunteered as a facilitator and/or leader for Orientation, Leadership Bootcamp, and Scholar Retreats. She was also president of the Scholar Mentor Club and an active member of Sigma Beta Delta (International Honor Society for Business, Management, and Administration) and Na Pua O Ka ‘Aina (Hawai’an Club). This fall, she plans to pursue a master’s degree in psychology.
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