Dear Members of the Campus Community,

I am pleased to announce the student and faculty speakers who will celebrate the Puget Sound Class of 2022.

The selection committees have named:
Lotus Perry, instructor for Asian Languages and Cultures and the Asian Studies program, as the Academic Convocation faculty speaker
Kalina Cordero ’22 as the Convocation student speaker
Donovan Wilson ’22 as the Commencement undergraduate student speaker
Lauren Memmott, MEd'22 as the Commencement graduate student speaker

Faculty Speaker for Academic Convocation – Lotus Perry
Our faculty speaker, Lotus Perry, is a longtime instructor in the Asian Studies Program. She teaches Chinese language and culture courses, and is the faculty supervisor for the Puget Sound Summer Taiwan Program and the Taiwan Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistant (FLTA) Program. Professor Perry is a co-author of a widely used language textbook, Taiwan Today: An Intermediate Course, and serves on the leadership team for the Advance Placement Chinese Language and Culture Examination. She is a founding member of the Chinese Language Teachers Association of Washington. An advocate for community engagement and experiential learning, Professor Perry works closely with students to seek language immersion, internship, and fellowship opportunities. She also leads students to engage in local volunteer work, such as guiding history tours at the Chinese Reconciliation Park during the annual Tacoma Moon Festival. She is currently on the Executive Board of the Chinese Reconciliation Project Foundation in Tacoma. She will deliver her Academic Convocation address on the topic, “The Power of Savoring: What the Tortoise Knows.”

Student Speaker for Academic Convocation - Kalina Cordero ’22
Kalina Cordero, from Tukwila, Washington, will graduate with majors in both Politics and Government and African American Studies. As a member of the women’s soccer team since her first year, Kalina has made it all the way to the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division III playoffs. She co-founded the Association of Student-Athletes of Color, an organization committed to the growth and success of student-athletes of color. Through her achievements, Kalina was featured as a student representative for the athletics department in Amazon Prime’s The College Tour series. Kalina was also a student leader for the inaugural First Year Inside Puget Sound, a college transition program focused on supporting incoming students as they take on the challenges of university life. Kalina’s involvement in various campus organizations has given her a unique perspective on community. Kalina’s address is titled “Inafa'maolek On Campus, In the Community, and Within You,” and she will deliver her remarks during the Academic Convocation ceremony on May 14.

Undergraduate Student Speaker for Commencement - Donovan Wilson ’22
Donovan Wilson, from San Jose, California, will graduate with majors in both Business Administration and African American Studies. Donovan has been on the university’s basketball team for four years and co-founded the Association of Student-Athletes of Color. ASAC seeks to strengthen the community of athletes of color on campus and in the greater Tacoma area. The group has been invited to hold a panel on their organization’s activities at the National Conference of Race and Ethnicity in May. In addition, Donovan is the secretary of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and the athletic representative to the Dean of Students Council. Donovan is known across campus for his tremendous leadership skills and kindness. He has been praised for his ability to lift up others, on and off campus. He will deliver his address, titled “A Puget Sound Education: How Our Collective Experience Shapes Our Individual Knowledge Within Society,” during the Commencement Ceremony on May 15.

Graduate Student Speaker for Commencement – Lauren Memmott, M.Ed. ’22
Lauren Memmott, from Olympia, Washington, will graduate with a Master of Education degree in Counseling. Lauren received both her B.S. and M.S. in psychology from Brigham Young University. Lauren chose the University of Puget Sound for her counseling degree because she wanted to be part of a campus culture that promotes equity and encourages personal growth, and she is grateful for the support of her professors and classmates throughout her program at Puget Sound. A single mother of four, Lauren’s focus while in graduate school has been on her studies and her family. She writes that her counseling coursework and internship have increased her capacity to know herself and that the self-reflections and assessments in which she has engaged in her studies have established a pattern of personal development to follow in her profession as a counselor. Lauren is dedicated to being a culturally responsive advocate for the communities she serves. Her address is titled, “Finding Freedom on the Trail: A Puget Sound Experience,” and she will deliver her remarks during the Commencement Ceremony on May 15.

Please join with me in congratulating and expressing appreciation to Kalina, Donovan, Lauren, and Professor Perry!

Sincerely,

Isiaah
Isiaah Crawford, Ph.D. | President