UC's record graduating class prepares for next chapter

The Carl H. Lindner College of Business student completed a co-op in Kentucky, earned a certificate in Spanish business and joined a mentoring fellowship all while pursuing a double major in marketing and business information systems.

He will have a large cheering section of family when he walks across the stage at Fifth Third Arena for the largest spring commencement in the 205-year history of the university based on preliminary numbers.

With four ceremonies spread across three days, UC’s spring commencement kicks off at 3 p.m. Thursday, April 25, with the doctoral hooding and master’s recognition ceremony. Doors open at 1:30 p.m. Tickets are required for all guests. The arena only allows clear plastic bags.

UC’s undergraduate commencement will consist of two ceremonies at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. Friday, April 26, and 10 a.m. Saturday, April 27. The ceremonies will be streamed live.

Allfree enjoys art and drawing, but he also wanted to learn more about how to reach a bigger audience. So he double-majored in marketing and business information systems in the Lindner College of Business.

And he wanted to learn more about photography and videography, so he minored in media production in UC’s College-Conservatory of Music.

Because he likes to travel, he wanted to brush up on his language skills, so he got a certificate in business Spanish from UC’s College of Arts and Sciences.

Allfree is in UC’s Darwin T. Turner Scholars Program, where he became fast friends with his first-year roommate. The program is designed to give first-generation and underrepresented college students a community of support to help them succeed.

Allfree said being a Turner scholar made the transition to college much easier.

“I think it worked for me because I come from a small high school in Cincinnati,” he said. “I didn’t know many people at UC, so it allowed me to have a built–in community.”

Allfree joined UC Business Fellows, a mentorship program for future business leaders.

Some of his favorite experiences were trips abroad to Canada and Colombia. He traveled to Toronto in his first year at Lindner. And during spring break he went to Colombia for a study-abroad program, where he put his Spanish skills to the test.

He has a large contingent of family coming to commencement. And he’s looking forward to UC’s Afrocentric graduation celebration called Tyehimba. 

Allfree said apart from imparting new skills and knowledge, UC demonstrated the importance of kindness.

“You never know what people are going through,” he said. “Be a friend to people, even if it’s not someone you see yourself fraternizing with.”

UC will confer 7,521 degrees to 7,391 students. (Some students are earning multiple degrees.) Both represent new records dating back two centuries at UC for a single graduating class.

UC will award 539 associate degrees, 4,549 baccalaureate degrees, 252 doctoral degrees, 1,886 master’s degrees, 3 micro-credentials and 292 professional certificates.

This year 15% of graduates are first-generation college students. And 210 students come from Cincinnati Public Schools. Nearly 3% of grads are U.S. veterans or dependents of veterans.

New this year, three students will graduate from UC’s micro-credentialing program as electronic health records specialists. UC also will celebrate its first spring graduating class in the new master’s of legal studies program.

UC has seen a dramatic increase in master’s graduates in information technology and baccalaureate graduates in cybersecurity in the College of Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services. Meanwhile, the College of Engineering and Applied Science has seen a surge in graduates in its computer science and biomedical engineering programs, reflecting a growing interest in these fields.

The spring class of 2024 has the largest-ever percentage of master’s and doctoral graduates, representing more than 28% of graduates. And nearly 15% of grads participated through distance learning programs.

Graduates hail from 84 of Ohio’s 88 counties, a new record. They come from all 50 states and 81 countries as far away as Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, the Philippines and Japan.

Women represent 56% of the spring class of 2024. And 57 grads will celebrate their birthday during the three days of commencement.

The Board of Trustees will award an honorary degree to UC graduate and international entrepreneur Timothy Brown, co-founder and chief innovation officer for the sustainable shoe and clothing company Allbirds.

Brown, a native of Wellington, New Zealand, is a 2005 graduate of UC’s College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning, where he majored in graphic design and worked in UC’s top-rated co-op program.

UC graduate Chin Hua “Odin” Ou is following in the footsteps of Neil Armstrong, the first person to walk on the moon. Armstrong came to UC to teach aerospace engineering after leaving NASA. Before becoming an astronaut, Armstrong was an engineer and test pilot who worked to improve the aerodynamics of aircraft.

Siblings Jaina and Benton Hellmann are graduating together this year.

Jaina is an Honors Program student who conducted research at a pediatric hospital while studying chemistry in UC’s College of Arts and Sciences.

“Our project focuses on how your body develops an immune ‘memory’ against antigens that have invaded you before,” she said. “I never dreamed of doing biomedical research. I’ve seen myself grow as a researcher and team member at UC.”

Darl Jacob is earning a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from UC’s College of Arts and Sciences, where he conducted research in immunology.

“We were working on therapeutic interventions for people who are diagnosed with immune deficiencies,” he said.

He has been interested in chemistry since high school. The field of immunology is seeing dramatic advancements in treatments of diseases like cancer, he said.

“It’s been interesting to see how you can modify the body’s immune cells,” he said.

Jacob was born in India but grew up in the United Arab Emirates. His family will come from two continents to attend his commencement. Meanwhile, his brother is in Europe, working on a graduate internship in electrical engineering in the United Kingdom.

“My mom and dad are coming from the UAE and my grandmother is coming from India,” he said.

His dad also works in chemistry as a biochemist.

“The good thing is my dad was able to give me a lot of insights about opportunities in chemistry, particularly if I wanted to go into research,” he said.

After graduation, Jacob will attend Brown University for graduate school.

“One of the biggest lessons I learned is that resilience is a good thing. And it’s really important to ask questions when you don’t know something,” he said. “That’s something I’ll take to grad school.”

Featured image at top: UC students will celebrate commencement over three days at Fifth Third Arena. Photo/Andrew Higley/UC Marketing + Brand