UW Tacoma students and faculty at Convocation

New Faces of 2015: Students

October 2, 2015

The new academic year kicks off with Convocation, and we are proud to introduce some of the new faces on campus in 2015.

Convocation is a coming-together. At UW Tacoma, it’s a welcome to those new to campus and to those coming back to campus. It’s a chance to anticipate the year ahead, to gird one’s resolve for the coming academic year.

UW Tacoma’s fourth annual convocation ceremony, held on October 2, 2015, continues a tradition started in 2012. Groups of students, parents, faculty, staff, alumni and community members meet at the location of a key community partner and process through the streets of Tacoma to campus.

Over the coming year we will profile some of the new faces on campus, starting with a group of amazing students below. Everyone on this campus has a story worth hearing — those presented below are just a small fraction of a wealth of experience and inspiration walking through our hallways every day.

Christie Peralta

Christie Peralta
First-year student
Born: Federal Way
Alumna of: Todd Beamer High School, Federal Way
Intended major: Freshman Direct admit to Milgard School of Business
Quote: “Why not try it? It’s better to accept an opportunity than to reject it.”

Read more...

Lorenzo Giampietro

Lorenzo Giampietro
First-year student
Born: Havre de Grace, MD
Alumnus of: Bethel High School
Intended major: Urban Studies
Quote: “Anyone is capable of anything. If you don’t try, you won’t ever succeed.”

Read more...

Chalaya Miller

Chalaya Miller
First-year student
Born: Seattle
Alumna of: Renton High School
At age 10: Was acting and modeling, dreamt of becoming famous
Intended major: Business

Read more...

Chris Minish

Chris Minish
First-year student
Born: Olympia
Alumna of: CHOICE Alternative School in Shelton, Wash.
Intended major: Computer Engineering
Quote: “I learned a lot about how hard work will get you where you want to go.”

Read more...

Nasro Omar

Nasro Omar
Transfer student
Born: Somalia
Transferred from: South Seattle College
At age 10: family expected would become a medical doctor
Intended major: Health Care Leadership; wants to run a non-profit devoted to helping others
Quote: “You can do anything you put your mind to. Don’t ever give up.”

Jessie McHenry

Jesse McHenry
Transfer student
Born: Oakland, Calif.
Transferred from: Pierce College
High school: Foss High School (Tacoma)
At age 10: imagined becoming a lawyer
Intended major: Computer Science; wants to become a programmer (but he is taking political science classes “because you never know”)
Quote: “Attitude is everything. It’s never too late.”

Bambi May

Bambi May
Transfer student
Born: Nebraska
Transferred from: Green River College
Goal after degree: Now that her two sons are grown (one graduated from WWU, the other in military), she wants to finish her undergraduate degree. She sees herself in a large corporate setting like Boeing.
Quote: “Follow your dream. It all starts with an idea.”

Written by John Burkhardt
Academic Affairs
Campus events
Community support
Student Affairs
Student Life
Student profiles

Recent news

Omari Amili: Navigating the Post-Prison Pathway

Omari Amili, 2023-24 Distinguished Alumni Award recipient and new Husky Post Prison Pathways program director, shares his vision for welcoming and supporting previously incarcerated people like himself.
More Recent News

UW Tacoma in the News

‘Identities Horizons’ spotlights AAPI students at UWT

Alumnus Nuk Suwanchote, '17, is the director of a film exploring the experience of Asian American and Pacific Islander UW Tacoma students. The documentary, which includes Chancellor Sheila Edwards Lange, was produced by the Chinese Reconciliation Project Foundation.
Tacoma Weekly
-

The enduring legacy of the Black 'Buffalo Soldiers'

Dr. Luther Adams - Free Man of Color discusses the history of Black participation in the U.S. military, particularly the regiments known as the Buffalo Soldiers.

KCTS9/Crosscut Now
-
More UW Tacoma in the News