CLAREMONT, Calif.–Western CUNA Management School has announced its newest graduates, including those who were honored for their accomplishments as part of the program.
The “Phi” class of 2024 marked the 62nd graduation commencement and included 108 graduates from the three-year program. This year’s commencement ceremony was held in Bridges Hall of Music on the Pomona College campus.
“Our movement is the cumulative effect of billions of decisions, choices, and actions of the people you work with and the people who came before us,” said commencement speaker Scott Simpson — president and CEO of the California and Nevada Credit Union Leagues and Utah’s Credit Unions. “There are a lot of stories — and it’s the sum of those individual stories that make this the great social movement that it is. I am grateful to be a part of Western CUNA Management School and all that happens here, all that it stands for, and everything that this movement is.
“Phi Class, you are the stewards of this grand experiment. Tonight, you get the keys to the kingdom. I am honored to spend the energy that I have in my career to defend what all of you do for a living; it is absolutely worth it,” Simpson continued. “When somebody dares to say there’s no difference between what you do at a credit union and what they do at a bank, remind them that the difference means everything to our members.”
The Honors
California
California students graduating with “High Honors” and “Honors” included:
- Year-Two Examination High Honors: Michelle Brands-Giesea; Li Cheng; and Alissa Mojica.
- Project-Two High Honors: Michelle Brands-Giesea; Li Cheng; and Alissa Mojica
- Year-Two Examination Honors: Tyrone Conde; Timothy Jung; Natalie Reggio; and Holly Martindale.
- Project-Two Honors: Jesus Berumen; Joseph Coffman; Timothy Jung; Holly Martindale; Victor Mendoza; Alex Saldana; Elise Schexnayder; and Mark Zikry.
Nevada
Nevada students graduating with “High Honors” and “Honors” were:
- Year-Two Examination High Honors: Paulina Urantowska-Torres.
- Project-Two High Honors: Paulina Urantowska-Torres.
The Graduates
The new graduates include, from California: Jesus Berumen, Michelle Brands-Giesea, Mark Cardella, Hiram Carrington, Li Cheng, Kim ChhemThomas, Joseph Coffman, Julia Coleson, Tyrone Conde, Marco DeGroen, Gilbert Del Real, Martha Dominguez, Sandy Duarte, Chrystine Elstad, Christiana Hancock, Christopher Hand, Janelle Harvey, Francisca Hernandez Ortiz, Nazreen Jalil, Timothy Jung, Martin Lara, Dave Mard, Holly Martindale, Tania Martinez, Victor Mendoza, Alissa Mojica, Sara Morales, Nina Nunez, Fermin Parra, Jaqueline Perez, Natalie Reggio, Alex Saldana, Kanti Sarker, Elise Schexnayder, Bebe Souvannavong, John Thomas, Kim Viola, Stephanie Young, and Mark Zikry.
Graduates from Nevada include: Therly Baker, Nelida Espinoza, and Paulina Urantowska-Torres.
Individual Honors
Individuals honored included:
- In addition, the graduating student who best represents high moral character, leadership, credit union dedication, and academic achievement is nominated by his or her class to receive the Charles M. Clark Memorial Award every year. This year’s recipient was Elise Schexnayder, credit union solutions and relationship manager for the California and Nevada Credit Union Leagues.
- David Ellings, former director of campus activities for WCMS (1989 graduate), and Nancy Wood, former director of school administration for WCMS (2000 graduate), both received this year’s James D. Likens Alumni Recognition Award for significant achievements in the credit union field since graduating from the school. Their lifetime of accomplishments, volunteerism, and achievements were duly recognized.
- Josh Harden, class commencement speaker from Colorado, received the Rick Craig Prize for Excellence in Project II. The award recognizes superb excellence in a student’s second-year WCMS project, an endeavor usually taking each student more than 200 hours to complete.
Service-Learning Activities
WCMS reported that this year’s graduating class continued with the long-standing tradition of paying it forward to future leaders and giving back to WCMS funds it earned in service-learning activities. The graduating class gift of $23,000 represents the total raised over the past three years in Phi Class and tri-class led efforts.