Just over 2,000 students received degrees during the University of Wisconsin-Madison Winter 2024 Commencement at the Kohl Center on Dec. 15, 2024. Nearly 1,400 of them took part in the ceremony at the Kohl Center, where commencement speaker and “Top Chef: Wisconsin” finalist Dan Jacobs donned a Badgers apron and demonstrated on stage how to spatchcock and roast a chicken during the ceremony. “[This] might possibly be one of the most important lessons you ever learn,” Jacobs told a chuckling audience. “Everyone should be able to make a good roast chicken.”
While the tutorial offered a light-hearted nugget of useful advice, Jacobs made sure to also pepper the graduates with guidance they could apply to their careers and relationships following graduation: remain curious and open to new experiences.
“The thing I love most about cooking is that the learning never stops; as chefs, we’re constantly evolving, experimenting, and refining our style,” said Jacobs. “That endless curiosity is what keeps us inspired. Take that same thirst for knowledge and apply it to whatever you’re passionate about.”
Student speaker Sawyer Getschman was one of 1,545 bachelor’s degree recipients following the fall 2024 semester. An additional 373 students earned master’s degrees and 116 students were awarded doctoral degrees, for a total of 2,034 graduates. Getschman, who earned her bachelor’s in East Asian languages and cultures, said she nearly left UW-Madison after a freshman year marred by the pandemic.
“A hundred little reasons made me stay, but the main one was the people,” said Getschman. “We have encountered so much uncertainty and oddity in our college careers, but we have come out on the other side, stronger and with better stories to tell because of it.”
One powerful source of strength that Chancellor Jennifer L. Mnookin highlighted in her remarks before the audience of more than 7,500 graduates, friends and relatives centered on “the incredible variety of people” that the graduates met, lived with and worked alongside every day during their time in Madison.
Mnookin implored the graduates to hold onto that cooperative spirit as they entered their next chapter, whether it be a new career, continuing education or something else.
“You are ready,” said Mnookin. “You have had experiences here that you will be able to draw upon in whatever comes next for you. You are prepared, not only by your academic experiences here but also by your many engagements with our community and one another.”
For more information about UW-Madison, visit http://www.wisc.edu. View the ceremony at https://www.wisc.edu/commencement/ and read about it at https://news.wisc.edu/practical-life-lessons-help-provide-recipe-for-success-at-uw-madison-winter-2024-commencement/
Here is the degree recipient from your area:
Whitewater, WI
Vamsi Krishna Vadlamudi, College of Engineering, Master of Science-Industrial Engineering, Industrial Engineering
