Taman Siswa

Jon M. Huntsman Sr. wished UVSC graduates well on Friday, and chipped in to help future students reach the same goal in their education.

After speaking to about 1,000 graduates, Huntsman announced that he and his wife, Karen, will donate 20 $5,000 scholarships for each of the next five years. Huntsman said the couple was donating the money “so that we, too, are a part of this great family at this remarkable institution.”

UVSC President William Sederburg thanked Huntsman, saying, “We will make sure that money will fulfill the dreams of 20 students a year for the next five years, and those students will be forever grateful.”

UVSC spokesman Derek Hall said the scholarship announcement was a surprise to administrators, and the college will work out the details with the Huntsmans.

A total of 1,725 students finished their course work this semester, with another 1,738 honored for completing their degree requirements earlier in the year. Of this semester’s graduates, 783 received bachelor’s degrees, 927 associate’s degrees and 15 received certificates.

Huntsman, owner of the Huntsman Corporation and founder of the Huntsman Cancer Institute, encouraged students to be gracious and live with integrity. “I’ve watched in the business world as great corporations have fallen down because of a lack of character, integrity, honor and justice.”

Huntsman congratulated the students on overcoming obstacles to complete their education.

“We know that in many cases there have been hardship and difficulty to overcome and finances to try to work through, and we commend you and we thank you and we salute you,” he said.

Jared Sumsion, UVSC student body president, challenged his fellow graduates to never stop learning.

“Each of us have a circle of influence where privilege, opportunity and responsibility combine, granting us the chance for something better,” Sumsion said. “Let us embrace and look forward to tomorrow, because we have the chance to learn and implement something new every day.”

The day didn’t go by without a reminder that the college wants to become a university.

“In the very near future, we will attain university status from the state of Utah and the graduating class of 2006 will have the opportunity to retroactively have the name changed on their diploma from college to university,” Sumsion said. “Mr. Huntsman, I hear you have connections with the governor’s office. Maybe you can help us out with our goal.”

Huntsman’s son, Jon Huntsman Jr., is Utah’s governor.

Renee Huggins of Salt Lake City received an associate’s degree in theater on Friday.

She said depending on how quickly UVSC progresses toward becoming a university, she might return for the newly implemented bachelor’s degree in theater.

“UVSC does have a great reputation for having hard-working students, good morals, being really dedicated to their work,” Huggins said. “That’s what’s been inspiring me to keep making the commute here.”

Heather Durrant, 17, a senior at Provo High School, was a step ahead of her high school class when she graduated from UVSC with an associate’s degree from the School of General Academics.

“I think I mostly just kind of got bored with high school,” she said. “It wasn’t really challenging. I decided I might as well be taking classes that would give me credit for college and high school.”

She started classes at UVSC the summer after her sophomore year in high school. Now she’s received an academic scholarship to Brigham Young University and qualifies for the state’s New Century scholarship. “I have lots of big decisions to make,” she said.

During the ceremony, Sederburg also conferred honorary degrees. Jon M. Huntsman received an honorary doctorate of business affairs; Karen Haight Huntsman received an honorary doctorate of humane letters; Jack Zenger received an honorary doctorate of leadership studies; and Holly Zenger received an honorary doctorate of community affairs.

Source: heraldextra.com