UC Merced, Merced College graduates about to walk the stage

Graduation season begins Saturday at UC Merced and continues later this month at Merced College.

UC Merced’s two days of ceremonies begin at 9 a.m. Saturday and Sunday in the university’s South Bowl.

Merced College will host its 53rd commencement at 7:30 p.m. May 27 in Stadium ’76/Don Odishoo Field.

Merced College is set to award about 1,500 certificates and degrees. Eight students will be recognized with superintendent honors for having completed at least 36 units of study with a 4.0 grade-point average.

UC Merced is expected to award 871 bachelor’s degrees, 18 master’s degrees and 30 doctoral degrees. Those walking the stage represent 40 California counties, two other states and seven countries. The youngest of this year’s participants is 20 years old and the oldest is 73, according to officials.

Michael Huerta, administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration, will speak to about 500 students from the School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts on Saturday.

Huerta, who was sworn into office in January 2013, is responsible for the safety and efficiency of the largest aerospace system in the world. He is an experienced transportation official whose reputation for managing complex challenges led him to the international stage when he was selected as managing director of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.

The graduate speaker is Domonique Jones of Hercules, a double major in political science and economics. She served as president of the Associated Students of UC Merced for the past year and was the first woman to be elected to that position.

Dado Banatao, managing partner of Tallwood Venture Capital, will address nearly 400 candidates from the schools of Natural Sciences and Engineering on Sunday.

Banatao is known as the pioneer of the chip set and graphics acceleration architecture that can be found in every personal computer. As an engineer, he is credited with developing several key semiconductor technologies and is regarded as a Silicon Valley visionary, according to a news release.

Also on the stage during Sunday’s ceremony will be Laura Showalter, a Merced native who is a double major in chemistry and management. Showalter worked on projects to help produce HIV-inhibiting proteins and to examine how innovation powers local economies.

To find out more on the UC Merced ceremony and speakers, go to http://commencement.ucmerced.edu.

This story was originally published May 13, 2016 at 4:38 PM with the headline "UC Merced, Merced College graduates about to walk the stage."