Members of the Class of 2021 can hold their heads high as survivors and achievers. Through pandemic and polemic, they have completed the next stage of their journeys through life. We present a sampling of their stories.
This year’s Commencement student speaker, Davina Pasillas wants to encourage people to use their voices. She wants to inspire her siblings and her kids to shoot for the stars.
Renée Guzman knows what it is like to grow up as a military child, from a family for whom service is a calling. With her degree in social welfare, she hopes to carry that service forward.
Ivan Lievanos is using his experience in the National Guard to help veteran-connected students succeed in college.
UW Tacoma alumna Joy Chang served as a medic in the army, an emergency room nurse at Tacoma General and now works as a nurse practitioner in a private practice.
Dean Altaf Merchant sees the Milgard School as a catalyst for entrepreneurship and social responsibility in the South Sound region.
Linda Ishem, Lisa Faircloth, Jamie McGee and Chana Lawson talk about the Black Student Union, the first student organization at UW Tacoma.
Alumna Chelsi Johnson took the strategic communications skills she learned at UW Tacoma to the D.C. National Guard and the Department of Defense.
Omari Amili spent time in prison before earning three degrees from UW Tacoma. He interviews 10 other people who graduated after they got out.
As one of the first to serve in the newly-created U.S. Space Force, Kathryn Davidson, ’20 B.S. Math, is honoring her mother’s legacy by ensuring a future for herself.
