Bellevue College awards degrees; 578 grads from Bellevue

Bellevue College held its 46th annual commencement ceremony on Friday, June 14, in Seattle’s KeyArena in front of the largest audience ever, conferring more than 2,600 awards to the Class of 2013. This marks the first time in BC’s history that it has staged the ceremony at an off-campus location, with an estimated 4,500 people in attendance, a significant increase over last year.

June 20, 2013 7:23 pm
Bellevue College will add bachelor’s degrees
Bellevue College will add bachelor’s degrees

Bellevue College held its 46th annual commencement ceremony on Friday, June 14, in Seattle’s KeyArena in front of the largest audience ever, conferring more than 2,600 awards to the Class of 2013. This marks the first time in BC’s history that it has staged the ceremony at an off-campus location, with an estimated 4,500 people in attendance, a significant increase over last year.

“This day was all about our graduates, and we wanted them to be able to share this important milestone with as many family members and friends as possible,” said President David L. Rule, Ph.D. “Holding commencement in KeyArena allowed us to have a ceremony that was as inclusive as possible.”

In all, the college awarded 2,609 bachelor’s and associate degrees, certificates and diplomas to 2,481 students. Graduates from the Bellevue area numbered 578, accounting for the largest share of any city in the region.

The ceremony included a speech by graduate Safae Zniber, an international student from Morocco who graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Interior Design, one of 55 bachelor’s degree grads this year. Jack Surendranath, an instructor and former dean of the Science Division who has been with Bellevue College since 1975, spoke on behalf of the faculty, and Rule delivered the keynote address.

This marks the fifth year in which BC has conferred bachelor’s degrees in Radiation and Imaging Sciences, and the third class for Interior Design grads.

About three-quarters of this year’s class were made up of graduates who received associate degrees designed to prepare them to continue their education at four-year colleges and universities. In recent years, BC has transferred more students to these institutions than any community college in the state.

The graduating class included students as young as 15 and as old as 65. The average age is approximately 26. A total of 436 students graduated with high distinction (3.75 grade point average or higher) and 410 students with distinction (3.5 to 3.74 GPA). Thirty-eight students completed their studies with perfect 4.0 averages.