WWU Summer Quarter Commencement Set for Aug. 19 in Carver

BELLINGHAM – Douglas Leek, a Western Washington University alumnus and an administrator at The Northwest School in Seattle, will address WWU graduates and their families at the summer commencement ceremony Aug. 19 at 10 a.m. in Carver Gymnasium.

About 390 undergraduate and 50 master’s students are expected to graduate from Western summer quarter. There will be one ceremony for all graduates and no tickets are required to attend. Overflow seating will be available on campus.

Leek, the ceremony’s keynote speaker, is director of admissions and enrollment management at The Northwest School, an independent college preparatory school with about 500 students in downtown Seattle. Leek earned his doctorate in educational leadership in 2016 from Seattle University and previously worked in admissions at Lakeside School in Seattle and the Evans School of Public Affairs at the University of Washington.

Also speaking at the ceremony will be Brooke Kaemingk, who is graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree. Kaemingk is a care manager for Whatcom Hospice, which is part of PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center.  

Overflow seating will be available adjacent to Carver in Western’s Science Math and Technology Education building, where the ceremony will be shown on large screens. The ceremony will also be streamed live at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/wwu-live-events1.

Following the ceremony, graduates will have the opportunity to follow WWU tradition and deposit their Western identification cards in a box that is later cemented into Memory Walk in front of Old Main.

Doors open an hour before the ceremony and all guests should be seated 20 minutes before the scheduled start.

Guest parking is free on Commencement day and available in most lots. Visitors must observe regulations for handicapped and individually reserved spaces. Visitors are also advised to arrive early to avoid traffic congestion and to allow for travel time between the parking lots and Carver.

Shuttle bus service will be available from the 12A parking lot off South College Drive from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. or until there is no demand. One of the shuttle buses will be ADA-equipped and will accommodate two wheelchairs. Guests who use wheelchairs may also park in lot 17G or 11G, which will be reserved for accessible parking.

Parking attendants will be available to assist guests with special parking needs.

For more information or for disability accommodations contact the Registrar’s Office, (360) 650-3701.