News Release
Contact
Laurie E. Bick-Jensen
Director,
Public Relations
320 DuPont Highway
New Castle, DE
19720
(302) 295-1164
laurie.e.bick@wilmu.edu
Wilmington University Spring Commencement Celebrates Student Triumphs
Behind the green tassels and smiling faces of each student in Wilmington University’s Class of 2013, there is a unique story of achievement.
Take Mya Oliveras. At only 26 years old, she had already endured three bouts of Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, two major surgeries and the sudden loss of her beloved father. There were times when she considered giving up – on school, on responsibility, on life itself.
But Mya didn’t quit. She persevered and went on to earn not one but two master’s degrees from Wilmington University. She crossed the stage on Sunday, May 19, 2013, with more than a thousand others to accept her Master of Science in Administration of Justice. And she thought of her Dad the entire time.
Then there’s Alli Williams. She came to Wilmington University to play soccer but her life took a frightening turn in her junior year when she was involved in a serious car accident. She will tell you with all honesty that the crash was her fault, the result of texting while driving. The impact sent her through her own windshield and she was left with head trauma and facial lacerations. Her future as a student athlete was in jeopardy.
After months of struggle, she caught up with her studies and returned to the soccer field this year. She was named a First Team All-Conference Selection and led her team to its first-ever conference championship.
Alli graduated with her class and some of her team members this year – on time.
These are just two of the many inspirational stories behind the faces of Wilmington University spring graduates. Part of the University’s mission and culture is to encourage and support students through challenges, setbacks and struggles to ensure that they have every opportunity for success in their studies. This depth of personal caring and attention sets the University apart and entices many students – more than 16,000 – to attend school here.
Spring Commencement ceremonies were held at the Chase Center on the Riverfront in Wilmington, Delaware on Sunday, May 19. A second ceremony was held at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday, May 22, 2013, at the University’s Georgetown location at Delaware Technical and Community College.
For more inspirational stories of our graduates, visit http://magazine.wilmu.edu or pick up a copy of the Spring/Summer issue of WilmU Magazine at multiple locations on campus starting June 25. For more photos of Commencement ceremonies, visit our photo gallery here.
About Wilmington University
Wilmington University is a private, nonprofit university committed to providing flexible, career-oriented traditional and online undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral degree programs and offering small class sizes, individualized attention and affordable tuition. For more information, contact Wilmington University at 302-356-INFO (4636), via email at infocenter@wilmu.edu or visit our web site at www.wilmu.edu.
