{"id":402576,"date":"2023-12-19T14:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-12-19T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/?p=402576"},"modified":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"-0001-11-29T14:00:00","slug":"UOG-families-celebrate-220-graduates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/UOG-families-celebrate-220-graduates\/","title":{"rendered":"UOG, families celebrate 220 graduates"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Family members, friends, and dignitaries from across the Micronesia region gathered to celebrate 220 graduates during the University of Guam\u2019s Fanuch\u00e5nan 2023 Commencement Ceremony last Sunday, Dec. 17, at the UOG Calvo Field House.<\/p>\n<p>The commencement speaker, a former high school dropout who grew up poor, and became an internationally known motivational and keynote speaker, shared some of his life-changing lessons.<\/p>\n<p>Dr. Samuel Betances said before he got accepted into college, he volunteered for jobs that no one else wanted, and in doing so received mentorship that encouraged him to read.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRead memoirs about people who had it tougher than you that bounced back and managed to excel,\u201d said Betances, who holds a master\u2019s degree and a doctoral degree in education from Harvard University.<\/p>\n<p>He urged the graduates to continue learning, become someone\u2019s mentor, and be part of change for a better community.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe fires are raging, and it is your turn to hold the hose,\u201d he said, receiving an enthusiastic response from the crowd.<\/p>\n<p>UOG president Anita Borja Enriquez encouraged the graduates to share the university\u2019s \u201cvalues of respect, compassion and community.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGive back in your capacities as new professionals, as value-added critical thinkers and problem solvers, be represented in all industry sectors, and work collaboratively and in harmony with and through others as Triton alumni,\u201d the president said.<\/p>\n<p>Aspiring psychologist Haley Mae M. Carreon is the valedictorian. Born in Guam and the daughter of Filipino immigrants Andy Carreon, an electrical engineer, and Shirley Carreon, an accountant, Haley Carreon credits her family\u2019s strong support of her education since childhood. She said she practiced good time management, a solid work ethic, and humility she learned from home. She studied psychology as her major and sociology was her minor.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe gather here not just as graduates but also as people who have experienced a transformative journey, molded by the obstacles we have overcome, the knowledge we have gained, and the connections we have created here at UOG,\u201d the valedictorian said. \u201cToday is not just a culmination of four years of hard work, it is a celebration of resilience and growth.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The graduates overcame almost three years of the pandemic and the devastation caused by Typhoon Mawar.<\/p>\n<p>The commencement also celebrated the first group of graduates in the Master of Accountancy Program at the School of Business Administration. <em><strong><em>(UOG)<\/em><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p> <figure style=\"width: 480px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/images\/imgupload\/99d3a8aa62b8bc0d2af840b4900631b1.jpg\" width=\"480\" height=\"360\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><\/p>\n<p>Members of the Class of Fanuch\u00e5nan 2023 celebrate after turning their tassels at the University of Guam Commencement Ceremony on Sunday, Dec. 17, at the UOG Calvo Field House.<\/p>\n<p>-UOG<br \/><\/figcaption><\/figure> <figure style=\"width: 480px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/images\/imgupload\/b835c1f146ae0ac25e704f49e62f9e75.jpg\" width=\"480\" height=\"360\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><\/p>\n<p>UOG president Anita Borja Enriquez delivers her massage during UOG\u2019s Fanuch\u00e5nan 2023 Commencement Ceremony last Sunday, Dec. 17, at the UOG Calvo Field House.<\/p>\n<p>-UOG<br \/><\/figcaption><\/figure> <figure style=\"width: 480px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/images\/imgupload\/b9d1d40159c078e7d6ff24d293d64ea4.jpg\" width=\"480\" height=\"360\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><\/p>\n<p>Class of Fanuch\u00e5nan 2023 valedictorian Haley Mae M. Carreon delivers her valedictory message.<\/p>\n<p>-UOG<br \/><\/figcaption><\/figure> <figure style=\"width: 480px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/images\/imgupload\/9c09254da1d8a2e23bcd6b0aa0804d5e.jpg\" width=\"480\" height=\"360\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><\/p>\n<p>Commencement speaker Dr. Samuel Betances was a former high school dropout who grew up poor and became an internationally known motivational and keynote speaker.<\/p>\n<p>-UOG<br \/><\/figcaption><\/figure> <figure style=\"width: 480px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/images\/imgupload\/8095e59a93ecbe34c4c4c3a676ebc0c9.jpg\" width=\"480\" height=\"360\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><\/p>\n<p>Parents, friends, and family members of UOG\u2019s Class of Fanuch\u00e5nan 2023 filled up the UOG Calvo Field House.<\/p>\n<p>-UOG<br \/><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Family members, friends, and dignitaries from across the Micronesia region gathered to celebrate 220 graduates&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-402576","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-local-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/402576","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=402576"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/402576\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=402576"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=402576"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=402576"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}