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During the first of two UNLV Spring 2023 Undergraduate Commencement ceremonies on Saturday, commencement speaker Caren Yap addressed a sea of students in scarlet caps and gowns gathered at the the Thomas & Mack Center. 

“We are scientists, we are engineers, we are teachers, and we are Rebels,” she said, just moments before more than a thousand of her peers would cross the commencement stage and officially become UNLV alumni. “We’ll soon be UNLV graduates, and there’s progress that only starts here and a difference only you can make. So let’s go make it happen!”

Yap, a former student body president, honors student, and double major in business, was one of more than 3,500 UNLV graduates this spring. The university hosted three on-campus ceremonies this weekend for undergraduate and graduate students, with additional ceremonies throughout the month for graduates in medicine, law, and dental medicine. 

In all, the Spring Class of 2023 hails from 39 states and 50 foreign countries, many are the first in their family to graduate from college, 86% are Nevada residents, and more than two-thirds – the most ever – are from ethnically diverse backgrounds. 

“Earning a degree is no small feat, as it has required you to rethink, innovate, and persist in ways you may have never thought possible,” said UNLV President Keith E. Whitfield to graduates. “You are problem solvers who can adapt to the unexpected, a skill that will serve you well as you bring new and creative ideas to an increasingly global workplace.” 

It’s a workplace where the diverse skills of UNLV grads will be in demand. According to UNLV Career Services, the job outlook for new college grads in nearly every sector is positive, with hiring expected to be up 4% over last year. This is especially true in engineering and hospitality, industries that continue their post-pandemic rebounds. 

The most popular majors this spring? Psychology, which led the way among undergraduate degrees, with Hospitality Management, Criminal Justice, Kinesiology, and Biological Sciences rounding out the top five. For grad students, education continues to be a popular choice, along with law and social work.  

Grads Take Center Stage

During the weekend ceremonies, Whitfield awarded an honorary doctorate to local business leader and former Las Vegas mayor Jan Jones Blackhurst. He also continued a longtime campus tradition by honoring 10 graduating students who embody the academic, research, and community impact of the graduating class. 

This spring’s honorees are confronting issues head-on to make water cleaner, crops more resilient, and mental health more front-of-mind. They’re supporting the community’s most vulnerable, fearlessly innovating advancements in the fight against cancer, and tracking societal advancements from the ancient past all the way through popular culture of today. 

And in a UNLV Commencement first, master’s student Pamela Hernandez received the surprise of a lifetime, when her father, an active duty member of the US Navy, traveled more than 30 hours from his post overseas during Friday’s graduate commencement ceremony. 

Since 1964, UNLV has awarded nearly 170,000 degrees to more than 145,000 graduates. The 3,500-plus degrees awarded this spring represent an increase of more than 7% over last year.

To view archived live streams of the May 12 and 13 commencement ceremonies, or to access digital versions of the event programs, visit the UNLV Commencement website.