This year’s Winter Commencement ceremony recognizes close to 1,500 graduates beginning at 10 a.m. Friday, Dec. 16, in Taco Bell Arena. The event honors August and December graduates and includes a processional, recessional and individual recognition of each graduate, broadcast on large screens. About 800 students are expected to participate in the ceremony. Click here to access the live Web broadcast.

The event also features the first-ever presentation of four Pesky Awards for Inspirational Teaching to Idaho K-12 teachers and the hooding of Faith Beyer Hansen, who is earning her Ed.D. in Curriculum and Instruction.

For some, the road to Commencement has been filled with opportunity, for others it has been a challenge, and for most, the ceremony marks the start of new and even bigger adventures. Below are a few of this year’s many notable graduates.

Gracie Bingham, Honors College, Bachelor of Science in Political Science and Bachelor of Arts in History, with a Minor in French

Bingham, who is this year’s student speaker, has taken advantage of many internship opportunities while a student at Boise State. This past summer, she served as a Press Office intern with the United States Embassy in Tokyo, Japan. She also interned with the Idaho State Historical Museum, worked with the Idaho Statesman’s Intern Fellows program and spent an additional summer as an intern with the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C. She has been active with ASBSU, served as a mentor and translator for the Francophone Refugee Mentoring Program and served as a teaching assistant in both history and French. “I could not have asked for better academic opportunities than I was offered during my time at Boise State,” she said. She is graduating with honors from the Honors College.

Jackie Nelson, Bachelor of Fine Arts in Visual Art and Art Education

As president of the Idaho Art Education Association and a cancer survivor, Nelson is a non-traditional student in the truest sense. She began her career with a cosmetology degree from a beauty school in Maine and briefly pursued a degree in human resource management and business administration at a school in New Hampshire. She then moved her family west in search of a drier climate that wouldn’t aggravate her daughter’s severe asthma. She took classes at the University of Nevada, Reno, before finally making her way to Boise State in 2006. While here, she was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. Determined not to miss school, Nelson scheduled all of her treatments around classes and tests. She has been on the dean’s list with honors every year since 2007 and will graduate with a degree in art education and visual arts. She is hoping to become a full-time art teacher once she completes her student teaching at a local district.

Vera Zdravkova, Bachelor of Arts in International Business, with a Minor in Entrepreneurship

Zdravkova worked a wealth of real experience into her time as an undergraduate at Boise State and that has helped her land a position with a Taiwanese manufacturing and trading company. After graduation, she will move to Taipei to work in marketing and product development. Her experience in the International Business program allowed her to complete a number of comprehensive marketing and export plans that Idaho companies used as the foundation of their marketing/exporting efforts. She also completed two internships with the Idaho Department of Commerce (one at the Idaho Trade Office in Guadalajara and one at the Idaho Trade Office in Taipei), an internship with the U.S. Department of State at the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City and one with the Idaho District Export Council. Zdravkova said the international business major offered her abundant opportunities to connect with the real business world.

Terry Caster, Bachelor of Applied Science with a Minor in Information Technology and Supply Chain Management

Having been laid off as an engineer with a Boise company after 16 years of work, Caster knew he had to go back to school to improve upon his associate’s degree. He felt a bachelor of applied science degree would make him more competitive in the job market, but at age 50, he had some mixed emotions about going back to school with a much younger population, including his son who also is a Boise State student. After more than two years of coursework, which includes a minor in information technology, Caster is now graduating and hoping to rejoin his old employer or another firm in Boise. The bachelor of applied science degree provides students with an associate’s degree the opportunity to combine their technical course work with academic core and upper-division coursework to earn a bachelor’s degree.

Noelle Lovern, Bachelor of Arts in Communication, with a Public Relations Emphasis

Lovern, a non-traditional student, came to Boise State after escaping an abusive marriage. Her story of seeking shelter from her abuse, moving through the public relations program and going on to complete her degree is an example of the type of commitment and determination that should be emulated. Boise State became part of rebuilding Lovern’s life. She threw herself into school and committed herself to bettering both her own life and to helping others succeed. She has given back to the program through her time, becoming the Blue House Public Relations executive director, serving as a teaching assistant and spending countless hours mentoring others. Because she understands the financial struggle students can face, she helped develop the very successful $20.11 campaign to fund SSPA student scholarships.

“Lovern is not one to look around to see what she is supposed to be doing or learning simply to prepare for an exam or paper,” said Mary Frances Casper, assistant professor or communication. “Learning matters to her, not only as a student in our classes, but as a citizen and as a person.”

Craig Laudicina, Bachelor of Science in Psychology

One of the most impressive things about Laudicina is his background. He’s been a disc jockey, a nightclub manager and security head, and a graphic artist. But the thread that runs through his life, no matter what he had to do employment-wise to make ends meet, is an incredible devotion to helping others. Laudicina has volunteered with Big Brothers Big Sisters, the Boys and Girls Club, Planned Parenthood and English as a second language agencies. He has been a caregiver, a behavioral technician and a community outreach assistant.