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| Cal State L.A.'s Class of 2002 Los Angeles, CA  The 55th Commencement exercises at California State University, Los Angeles will take place on SATURDAY, JUNE 15, 2002, in the Jesse Owens Stadium, located at the southeast corner of the campus. The colorful academic procession will start at 8:00 A.M. and the formal exercises are scheduled to end at approximately 10 a.m. This yearÂs Commencement speaker will be Cal State L.A. alumna U.S. Treasurer Rosario Marin Â83. Ms. Marin will also receive a CSU/Cal State L.A. Honorary Doctor of Laws at the event. Department and program receptions in various campus locations will follow the ceremony. More than 20,000 people are expected at this yearÂs Commencement to witness the conferral of more than 1,200 masterÂs degrees and 3,900 bachelorÂs degrees. Among the outstanding students receiving degrees are: · Honors student Eleanor Chen (Chatsworth), 16, Cal State L.A.Âs youngest 2002 graduating senior and former student government officer, is planning a career in business after graduation. · Tina Anh Thu Thi Nguyen (Diamond Bar), 19, winner of a prestigious Phi Kappa Phi national honor society graduate fellowship, has been awarded a research assistantship in the National Institutes of Health program at the Oxford University Glycobiology Institute this summer. · Outstanding music major and band member Becky Boggs (Alhambra)Âa congenital left-arm amputeeÂovercomes disability with the use of a prosthetic arm. Becky plays the euphonium (a small tuba), teaches low brass for the Saturday Conservatory of Music in Pasadena and will be director of the band program at Holland Middle School this fall. (Oh yes, she swims and crochets as a hobby.) An honors student with a 3.78 GPA, Becky finished her undergraduate studies in 3 ½ years. · ÂSenior senior Raymond Walter Brady (Bell Gardens) will get a grand 75th birthday present when he receives his B.A. in liberal studies on June 15. Ray, whose second love is singing (his first is his wife of 26 years, Aylene), retired as a photo technician from Northrop after 35 years. An honors student and member of Golden Key and Phi Kappa Phi national honor society, Ray has a 3.8+ GPA. · Golden Eagle track and field star Nicole Duncan (Los Angeles) made history recently as the fourth athlete ever to win the NCAA Championship in the 100 and 200 meter dash, and long jump in the same year. This month, she received the 2002 Honda Award, a national honor given to the top overall female athlete in NCAA Division II. · Duc Pham (Los Angeles), who will be graduating with a B.S. in Criminal Justice, is an ex-gang member whose personal vision, perseverance, and a special program at Cal State L.A. has helped him to turn his life around. · Harpist Vanessa Sheldon (Rancho Palos Verdes), 17, the UniversityÂs youngest 2002 masterÂs degree candidate, completed her undergraduate studies in music last year (in three years), her masterÂs degree in one year, and has received a teaching assistantship in the world-renowned harp program at the University of Arizona.
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