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Over the next 10 days, we will celebrate the hard work and dedication of over 2,200 University of Idaho graduates at Commencement Ceremonies in Moscow, Boise and Idaho Falls. These new members of the Vandal alumni family are poised to make an impact across a broad range of disciplines in Idaho, our country and the world.
Here is a small sample of our graduates’ amazing work and where they are headed in the future:
ASUI President Martha Smith is motivated to serve others after witnessing devastating disasters in her hometown of Kooskia during her youth. Armed with degrees in political science and economics, and four years of student government involvement, Smith is now a skilled leader and a strong advocate for those who are less fortunate. After graduation this spring, she plans to work in Washington, D.C., for one year before attending law school.
Mack Hagenbaugh is beginning a promising career with PotlatchDeltic Corporation, where he will oversee road construction and forest management operations on a 220,000-acre tree farm. The Troy native is earning a bachelor’s degree in agricultural economics and is one of the inaugural associate degree graduates in forest operations and technology, which was ideal preparation for his new position.
Emmerson Cox, after gaining extensive classroom knowledge in the College of Education, Health and Human Sciences, was mentored by Idaho Teacher of the Year, Heidi Cornell. Cox gained relationship-building skills and techniques throughout her student-teaching assignment at Lewiston’s Orchards Elementary School, and she intends to remain in the region to work as a teacher.
Heather Heward, an instructor in the College of Natural Resources, inspires and motivates students in fire ecology and management. As she earns her Ph.D. in education from the U of I this weekend, she aims to improve fire training and education. Her doctoral project involved interviewing 37 landowners in the Sandpoint area to help assess best practices for prescribed burns.
Avneet Virk started a nonprofit tutoring program in her native India while still in high school and continued her philanthropic efforts at the U of I. As a result of internships at Gritman Medical Center and the College of Science, and volunteering for the International Programs Office, the statistics major earned the Joe Vandal Spirit Award, an Alumni Award for Excellence and numerous other honors. She plans to attend graduate school.
A key player for the Vandal women’s golf team, Jenna Bruggeman was a standout on the course and in the College of Art and Architecture, earning WGCA All-American Scholar honors. Bruggeman plans on a career designing museums, art galleries, parks and libraries.
From fashion modeling in New York to fighting fires in rural Idaho, Celilo Miles had an adventurous life, even before starting at the U of I. After earning the prestigious Lindley Award, she graduates with a degree in communication this spring with plans to attend graduate school and continue research with CNR’s Department of Natural Resources and Society. Miles also plans to fight wildland fires on her tribal crew for the seventh season.
We are excited to celebrate our newest Vandal alumni this spring and look forward to the next chapters in their stories. Each of our Commencement Ceremonies stream live online.
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