by Bryant Vendosel, Student Reporter
Northwestern Oklahoma State University will be holding their fall commencement on Sunday, Dec. 8 at 3:30.
Percefull Fieldhouse will be where the graduates walk across the stage and get their diplomas from Dr. Cunningham.
The speaker for this year’s graduation is NWOSU alum Dr. Chan Hellman who graduated from Northwestern Oklahoma State in 1989 where Hellman earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology.
“During my time at Northwestern I really wanted to take scuba diving,” Hellman told University Relations. “I coordinated my courses around this opportunity which would potentially put me behind on the graduation timeline. Doc Mathews was the instructor and taught a really challenging course that included the requirement to pass a written test on the kinesiology and chemistry associated with diving (especially what happens to the body during diving accidents).
“Scuba diving was an amazing experience that I would not have pursued had it not been for this class. On the optional final exam, Doc Matthews invited us to show up and dive. I put on an air tank and swam to the deep end bottom and used the whole tank just staring at the surface reflecting on how Northwestern was offering a pathway of experiences that would change my life forever.”
Hellman is a professor in the Anne & Henry Zarrow School of Social Work at the University of Oklahoma. He also holds an adjunct professor appointment in the Department of Health Promotion Sciences for the OU College of Public Health.
Hellman is also the Founding Director of the Hope Research Center. “Hope is a future expectation for goal attainment. Hope is comprised of three main tenants: goals, pathways and agency,” according to their website.
Students attending the graduating this fall are eager to get their diploma. Trevor Johnson will be graduating with a health and sports science degree and is wanting to put his degree to good use when he graduates. “I’ve been working for this degree for a while, so getting my diploma will show that my hard work paid,” Johnson said.
Viewers can tune in to watch the event live on the university’s YouTube channel, which is named NWOSURangers.