UCOL Wairarapa will hold its annual Graduation Ceremony on Tuesday 22 March in the Masterton Town Hall with over 200 students eligible to graduate with Degrees, Diplomas and Certificates.
Graduates will be awarded qualifications from the Faculties of Trades and Technology, Humanities and Business, and Health Science.
Twelve of the 217 students eligible to graduate on Tuesday are the first graduands of the new Certificate in Māori Studies, through which students have gained foundation skills in Māori language and customs, reading, writing listening and speaking. Five graduands are the first of the nationally recognised NZ Certificate in Salon Skills (Introductory).
The largest group is those graduating with a Certificate in introduction to Health Science, with 24 graduates who now have the knowledge and skills to develop a career in the rewarding fields of nursing, health and science. Several of these students have now moved on to further study in the Bachelor of Nursing.
Other large graduand groups include 22 Bachelor of Nursing, 17 National Certificate in Business Administration & Computing, 15 National Certificate in Computing (delivered in partnership with Skills Update Training Institute), and 14 National Certificate in Early Childhood Education & Care.
Students will also graduate with qualifications in Building, Construction and Allied Trade Skills; Automotive Engineering and Motor Industry Skills, Hairdressing, Health Science, Baking, Professional Cookery, Hospitality, Beauty Services, Carpentry, Contemporary Music Performance, Adult Literacy & Numeracy Education, Adult Teaching, and Beauty Therapy.
During the ceremony, Chair of the Rimutaka Crossing Re-enactment Group, Robert (Tweet) Bird, will be presented with a UCOL Council Honours Award for particularly meritorious service.
Contemporary Music Performance students will perform a musical interlude before the presentation of seven scholarships.
Campus Manager Angela Hewitt says graduation is a time for family, friends, staff and peers to gather together to celebrate and acknowledge what students have strived so hard to attain.
"Education is a lifelong journey and no matter where individuals sit in their personal educational pathway, graduation is significant. Their experience at UCOL will have undoubtedly influenced their future career in a positive way, and I wish all graduates every success."
Musician and Lecturer Warren Maxwell will be the Keynote Speaker at the ceremony. Warren received a UCOL Council Honorary Fellow award last year for outstanding and distinguished contribution to UCOL, the community, and society in general.
The Ceremony starts at 1.30pm. At the conclusion, at approximately 3.00pm, the Graduates and UCOL staff members will form a procession through the streets of Masterton (weather permitting), back to the Student Hub at UCOL Wairarapa for light refreshments.