The University of Nevada, Reno conferred 1,835 degrees and certificates over the course of two commencement ceremonies, Saturday, Dec. 9. The event, which honored August and December graduates, awarded 1,405 bachelor's degrees and 430 advanced degrees (master's and doctoral degrees) as faculty, friends and family once again packed Lawlor Event Center for the joyous events.

A call to service

United States Sen.Catherine Cortez Masto, a 1986 graduate of the University, was the guest speaker at both the morning and afternoon events. Cortez Masto made history in 2016 when she became the first Latina elected to the U.S. Senate.

"It's my special honor to join you today as a graduate and alumna from an institution with a nearly 150 year legacy of educating and training self-reliant miners and ranchers, committed public servants, brilliant scientists and engineers, leading journalists, doctors, and scholars," Cortez Masto said. "This proud legacy is embodied in the school motto: ‘All for Our Country.'"

She went on to discuss the many ways in which the University is dedicated to the idea of public service.

"It's that idea of service that I am interested in talking with you about today," Cortez Masto said.

Cortez Masto then shared the story of Anne Henrietta Martin, founder of the University's Department of History, organizer and leader for women's suffrage in the state, and the first woman in Nevada to run for the United States Senate.

"It took one hundred years of attempts by people like Anne, a hundred years of women standing on each other's shoulders, to finally send a woman to represent Nevada in Washington D.C.," Cortez Masto said. "I'm standing before you today, as the first woman from Nevada, ever elected to the United States Senate, because of all those people who came before me."

Recognizing the many firsts that take place with an event like Commencement, Cortez Masto honored many of the graduates sitting before her: the first-generation college students, first to get a Ph.D. or first to become a nurse.

"All of these firsts contribute to the beautiful diversity of our state," she said. "It's the diversity of perspectives. The underlying stories you have. The way you can articulate your beliefs, share your values and your story, really listen to others, and collaborate to build amazing ideas."

"Class of 2017, you're only limited by your imagination," Cortez Masto said. "Never be afraid to be a first. Never be afraid to take that initial step."

Remembering Joe

In honor of former University President Joe Crowley, who passed away at age 84 on Nov. 28, 2017, University Executive Vice President and Provost Kevin Carman began the ceremony with a moment of silence to recognize the University's longest-serving president. Other speakers, including Cortez Masto, also paid homage to Joe. Nevada System of Higher Education Regent Jason Geddes shared a quote from Crowley, which clearly resonated with graduates.

"When I entered college, I didn't really know how much I didn't know," Crowley had said. "About everything. I learned then that's why we have universities: to make us more knowledgeable. It's a life I've never left, nor wanted to. It's a life that leaves me wishing to know more than I do, and understanding that the University is the just the place where I can make that wish come true."