A total of 8,625 students received degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Madison on May 12-13, including students from the Whitewater area.

There were two live ceremonies, on one for undergraduates at Camp Randall and one for all graduate degree candidates at the Kohl Center. Graduating were 6,225 undergraduate students, 1,487 master’s degree students and 913 doctoral candidates.

Keynote speaker Eric H. Holder Jr., the third-longest serving U.S. attorney general in the country’s history and the father of a Badger alumna, praised graduates for grasping the most urgent issues facing America.

“You’re already leading the way,” Holder told them.

Chancellor Jennifer L. Mnookin said the graduates’ achievements were extra impressive given that most of them were just freshmen when the pandemic hit. 

“You are graduating into a world that looks pretty different than the one you might have planned for when you arrived here,” Mnookin said. “You’ve learned to adapt to monumental change, and that’s about the only thing we know for sure the future will bring – more change, and sometimes unexpected change. Along the way, you’ve learned a lot about what it means to be a Badger.”

Liam McLean, senior class president, offered remarks on behalf of the class of 2023. He recounted how a serious speech and language delay as a child made him the target of relentless bullying. Now, he leans into that experience to help others be heard. 

“Looking back on this, I realized my motivation for becoming the best communicator I could be was rooted in how the speech challenges impacted me,” said McLean, of Fox Point, Wisconsin. 

For more information about UW-Madison, visit http://www.wisc.edu.

Here are the degree recipients from the Whitewater area:

NAME, COLLEGE1, DEGREE1, MAJOR1(S), DISTINCTION (if listed), COLLEGE2 (if listed), DEGREE2 (if listed), MAJOR2 (if listed), DISTINCTION2 (if listed)

Sandy Cohen, Law School, Doctor of Law (Juris Doctor), Law
Caroline Crowley, College of Letters and Science, Bachelor of Arts-Journalism, Journalism, Graduated with Distinction
 Sophia Elworthy, School of Med & Public Health, Master of Public Health, Public Health
 Jaden Henneman, Col of Agricultural & Life Sci, Bachelor of Science-Agricultural Business Management, Agricultural Business Management
 Andrew Marquardt, College of Letters and Science, Bachelor of Science, Psychology
 Connor Steinke, College of Letters and Science, Bachelor of Science with Honors in the Major, Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, International Studies, Graduated with Distinction
 Meghan Tracy, College of Letters and Science, Bachelor of Science, Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, Environmental Studies
 Daniel Trost, Col of Agricultural & Life Sci, Bachelor of Science, Biology