Snow to graduate largest class ever
Robert Stevens
Managing editor
4-27-2017
EPHRAIM—Utah Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox will give the commencement address for the largest graduating class ever on Saturday.
Students, their guests, faculty and staff will gather at 10 a.m. for commencement, where degrees and certificates will be conferred on 1,065 students.
The college will award 22 bachelor’s degrees in commercial music, 1,044 associate degrees and 50 certificates of completion. (Some students will receive more than one degree or certificate, which is why the number of degrees and certificates exceeds the number of graduating students.)
Cox and his wife, Abby, both Snow College alumni, will receive honorary degrees recognizing their service to Snow College and the state. Cox is a former mayor of Fairview, county commissioner and Utah state representative.
Also receiving honorary degrees will be Mark and LeAnn Stoddard. Mark Stoddard is president and CEO of Central Valley Medical Center in Nephi and has served on the Snow College Board of Trustees. LeAnn currently serves as chairwoman of the Snow College Foundation Board. Both are Snow alumni.
“The Stoddards work tirelessly in helping to advance Snow College’s mission, and are some of our biggest cheerleaders and advocates,” said Marci Larsen, assistant to Snow president Gary Carlston.
Other speakers will be this year’s valedictorian and salutatorian. Bryce Sorenson, Gunnison, is the class valedictorian. Sorenson is a self-described dirt farmer who took advantage of the Snow agricultural program. “He excelled in all his classes and is known as a self-starter and hardworking student,” Larsen said.
Jessica Guymon Cox of Emery County is the 2017 salutatorian. “As an early-childhood education major, she took many Home and Family Studies classes,” Larsen said. “She was also highly involved in various clubs across campus.”
According to data from the college, of the 1,065 diplomas Snow will issue, 643 will go to females, and 422 to males. The average graduate age is 22. The youngest graduate is 17 and the oldest 56. The average GPA was 3.3.
The graduates come from 28 Utah counties, 14 states and 14 foreign nations.
There are119 students set to graduate summa cum laude (with highest honors). Magna cum laude (with highest honors) will go to 144 students. Another 215 will graduate cum laude (with honors).
The top 10 majors in the 2017 graduating class are nursing, business, music, pre-engineering, art, psychology, education, social work, agri-business and natural resources.
