Indiana University Northwest conferred 626 degrees at the university’s graduation ceremony May 8.
The Class of 2024 collectively received 33 associate degrees, 501 bachelor’s degrees and 92 master’s degrees.
IUN Chancellor Ken Iwama reflected on the make up the graduating class. Graduates ranged from 15-year-old Khaya Njumbe to a 65-year-old student. Of graduating students, 75% identified as female and about 90% were working students.
“I hear the hopeful voices of the first generation — that’s almost half of you — who are the first in your family to go to college,” Iwama said the class, according to a press release. “I hear the beautiful voices of one of the most diverse graduating classes in the state of Indiana and, indeed, how beautiful they are.”
Faith Smith, a 2024 Bachelors of Arts in English graduate, served as the student speaker at the ceremony.
“This is not just a personal achievement for myself but also for my parents, who have instilled the foundation of education long before I could understand the importance of a college degree,” Smith said. “Therefore, as a first-generation college student — Mom and Dad — this is for you.”
Smith expressed her pride and praised her fellow graduates for accomplishing their goals.
In closing remarks, Iwama offered a charge to the graduates.
“Build upon your remarkable accomplishments and this milestone of graduation,” Iwama said. “To dream anew and achieve more, guided by the noble purpose to help all of us do better and be better.”
Gary-based IUN serves over 3,500 students across the Region. The university offers 70 degree programs, and is the result of growth that began in 1921 when Indiana University offered its first classes in Lake County.
