Hundreds of BGSU students end college career with graduation ceremony

5/10/2014

BOWLING GREEN -- Hundreds of Bowling Green State University students became alumni today during a graduation ceremony at the university's Stroh Center.

The 9 a.m. graduation was the second of three scheduled for those earning their degrees this year. The ceremony recognized students from the College of Arts and Sciences and BGSU Firelands campus.

The keynote address was given by Brenda Hollis, a 1968 graduate who was also awarded an honorary degree. Ms. Hollis, after graduating, turned down a job with the Central Intelligence Agency to join the Peace Corps. She earned a law degree from the University of Denver and served more than 20 years in the Air Force, from which she retired in 1998 as a colonel.

In February, the secretary general of the United Nations appointed Ms. Hollis as prosecutor of the Residual Special Court for Sierra Leone.

The keynote, which offered graduates a glimpse into how the BGSU experience translated for Ms. Hollis into a global one, lasted fewer than nine minutes. Her years at Bowling Green, she said, "expanded" and "enriched" her life.