Record class ready for next opportunity

This comes on the heels of UC’s record-setting enrollment in the fall of 2024.

UC will recognize its fall grads in a single ceremony at 3 p.m. Friday, Dec. 13. Doors open at 1:30 p.m. Tickets are required for guests. The arena has a clear bag policy in place for all events. The ceremony will be streamed live. 

UC will confer 2,660 degrees upon 2,643 graduates, according to preliminary figures from the Office of Institutional Research. Some graduates earn multiple degrees.

About 21% of graduates are transfer students.

UC will award 249 associate degrees; 1,130 bachelor's degrees; 1,171 master's degrees and 106 doctoral degrees along with four professional certificates.

About 14% of graduates are first-generation college students. And 62 students in the summer class are graduates of Cincinnati Public Schools. About 4% of summer grads are U.S. veterans or dependents of veterans.

Summer graduates hail from 47 states and 62 countries across six continents as far away as Australia, South Africa and Indonesia.

The youngest grad is just 18. The oldest is 66. Nine students also celebrate their birthday Friday.

Murphy Combs has pursued dual paths in her education, combining her love for music with her affinity for business.

After earning a bachelor’s degree from UC’s College-Conservatory of Music, the concert violist will take the stage at Fifth Third Arena to accept a second bachelor’s degree in marketing from the Carl H. Lindner College of Business.

She will earn a master’s degree from CCM in the spring and will pursue a second master’s in business administration from Lindner College. Music and business complement each other, she said.

“You need a lot of discipline to pursue the arts,” she said. “And with all the performances you do, you get comfortable in public settings. In business, you do a lot of public speaking and presentations, so I feel very comfortable with that.”

When international students Amrutha and Akshitha Bysani came to the United States to study information technology, they were full of excitement as well as trepidation about living so far from their home in India.

But the twin sisters said they had each other.

“I share everything with her and trust her,” Akshitha said. “It’s like a gift having my sister here.”

The two women came to UC because of its reputation for internships and co-ops, in which students divide the year between full-time class instruction and full-time employment with a company in their chosen field.

Through UC’s College of Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services, the sisters got internships: Akshitha with an IT company called Programmers.IO and Amrutha with Cincinnati-based consumer goods giant Procter & Gamble Co.

“I was super excited. P&G is a dream company,” Amrutha said.

The sisters did not know anyone at UC but that changed quickly, they said.

“We were lonely in the beginning,” Akshitha said. “We’re talkative and social so it was pretty easy to make friends.”

A UC international club called International Partners and Leaders also helped with their transition to Cincinnati. 

“They plan trips and have movie and game nights,” Akshitha said.

The two sisters said they hope their professional experience at UC will help kick-start their careers after graduation.

“The opportunity UC has given me is a big advantage,” Amrutha said.

Featured image at top: UC will celebrate fall commencement Friday at Fifth Third Arena. Photo/Andrew Higley/UC Marketing + Brand