Commencement: Compelling stories from the class of '09

While their smiling faces and traditional cap-and-gown outfits will seem uniformly carefree, many graduates at this year's Commencement exercises on June 12 can tell gripping stories of how they got to this point in their lives.

Wemba-Koy Okonda, Spanaway, and his wife fled a bloody revolution in the Democratic Republic of Congo 12 years ago to give their children a better life. Okonda worked overtime to support his eight children while attending classes at the University of Washington Tacoma. At this year's Commencement, he graduates with a bachelor's degree in computing and software systems.

Gary Belvin, Federal Way, a 20-year-old transfer student who entered UW Tacoma in the Running Start program, is one of the youngest students graduating. An honors student at Highline Community College, Belvin received a NASA space grant to attend UW Tacoma, where he earned his baccalaureate degree in computer engineering and systems with a 3.93 grade point average. At Commencement he will receive the Chancellor's Medal, given each year to the university's most accomplished student. His next stop is a master's degree in security informatics at The Johns Hopkins University, with a full scholarship from the National Security Agency.

Amy Igloi-Matsuno, Port Orchard, owns and manages Amy's on the Bay, a popular restaurant in Port Orchard, with her husband Grant Matsuno, who is the chef. In 2007, she was named one of Kitsap's "40 Under 40" by the Kitsap Peninsula Business Journal. She recently won an American Dream Award from the National Restaurant Association, one of only three recipients in the country. She's on the board of directors of the Association of Washington Business and this spring lobbied the Legislature on unemployment issues. She's planning a second restaurant. She's running for the Port Orchard City Council. And she's graduating from UW Tacoma with a degree in business.

Mandeep Tumber, Kent, immigrated with her family from a small village in Punjab, India, to Washington when she was 7. Tumber's father taught her, along with her sisters and brother, the importance of an education. She enrolled at UW Tacoma just three years ago, as a member of the university's first freshmen class. Through hard work, determination and summer school, she completed her degree early and will study for her doctorate at the Pacific Graduate School of Psychology in California in the fall — the first in her family to attend graduate school.

Shristi Prakash, Seatac, an environmental science grad, is conducting research into the presence of a synthetic chemical called perfluorinated carboxylic acids (PFCAs) in surface water samples collected from various locations in the Puget Sound. She plans to submit her findings to a peer-reviewed scientific journal for publishing.

About Commencement

Commencement exercises are slated for 10 a.m., June 12 at the Tacoma Dome, marking several milestones for UW Tacoma. An estimated 977 graduates are expected to participate. Graduates include

• the first students to complete degrees in the Computer Engineering and Systems program
• two students who entered as part of the first group of core freshmen
• the first UW Tacoma student member of the Board of Regents, Jean-Paul Willynck, Shoreline.

Gov. Chris Gregoire, who signed the legislation making UW Tacoma a four-year university, will deliver the Commencement speech.

Lauren Hildesheim, a transfer student from Idaho, is the student speaker.