ST. GEORGE – Over 1,700 graduates and 10,000 attendees packed Trailblazer Stadium Friday morning for Dixie State University’s 107th commencement. Years of effort have finally paid off for those students who received their diplomas, only to face a new challenge – a man with a camera and a microphone armed with questions from St. George News.
St. George News’ Sheldon Demke approached the fresh and shiny graduates with questions ranging from what lessons they’re learned during their time at Dixie State and how long it might take them to pay off their student loans to whether they could name all four of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
Watch the video in the media player above
Facts about the Class of 2018
Dixie State’s 2018 graduating class consists of 1,789 graduates from the school’s associate and baccalaureate programs.
While speaking at the commencement, DSU President Richard B. Williams gave a breakdown of the graduating class.
Of the graduates, 62 percent were female and 38 percent male, with the age of those graduating with bachelor’s degrees ranging from 16 to 72.
Also among the graduates, 32 percent were the first in their families to earn a university degree.
“They are, indeed, trailblazers within their families and future generations,” Williams said.
In additional to students from Utah, 28 states and 11 counties were represented in the graduating class, which included Brazil, Japan, Thailand, Ukraine, Mexico, South Korea, Nigeria, Vietnam, China and Iran.
Those who have attended Dixie State over the last four years have also seen many changes, Williams said.
In that time, Dixie State has gone from 6,000 students to nearly 10,000, and the school has added 30 degree programs, as well as its first graduate program in accounting.
Read more: Dixie State’s enrollment increases makes it the largest university in Southern Utah
The school has also added new student housing for the first time in decades, as well as the incoming Human Performance Center.
Read more: Dixie State breaks ground on new Human Performance Center
The university has become the fastest growing institution in the state of Utah, Williams said.
“We believe you are the trailblazers who will make the world a better place,” Williams told the graduates. “Be optimistic in all you do as you blaze your own trail.”
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