STUDENT’S REFLECTIONS ON THE IDEA OF WINE 

It’s summer in Tacoma and school may be out of session, but for the middle and high school students enrolled in the University of Puget Sound’s Summer Academic Challenge, it’s the perfect time to gain new skills and stave off summer learning loss. A group of students are gathered around computers, learning how to code by building a website from scratch.

Sports have always been a core part of Kaila Bonawitz’s identity. Growing up in an athletic family first in Hawai`i and later in Washington, she played soccer and volleyball, but an ACL and meniscus injury threw her plans of pursuing college athletics in doubt. She recovered, but had to switch gears to a new sport—golf. It was a decision that would ultimately lead her to the University of Puget Sound.

Good afternoon, Class of 2025, faculty, family, and friends.

Today, we celebrate not just an achievement but a transition, a moment where we take everything we’ve learned at Puget Sound and step into the world beyond. Over the years, we’ve challenged ourselves, expanded our perspectives, and grown into the people we are today. As we look to new opportunities and uncertainties, I want to remind each of you: we are ready.

Good afternoon. My name is Avi Matan Whinkin. I’m glad to be here today, and I’m glad that you’re here, as well.

During his internship in an acute psychiatric care facility, University of Puget Sound Occupational Therapy student Conner Kankelborg OTD’25 noticed Indigenous patients falling through the cracks of the healthcare system. Oftentimes, they were discharged without being referred to specific tribal health resources. The care they received didn’t always consider traditional knowledge and healing—factors that greatly improve tribal clients’ health outcomes.

University of Puget Sound will honor its graduates on Sunday, May 11, at 2 p.m. as part of its 133rd Commencement. The ceremony at Baker Stadium will celebrate the accomplishments of the Class of 2025, including both undergraduates and students completing one of Puget Sound’s five graduate programs.

It all started with a work-study job during Iliana Barnes Diaz’s first semester at the University of Puget Sound. She was tasked with raising voter engagement on campus—a daunting challenge for a first-year student who had only just become eligible to vote. Over the course of her four years at Puget Sound, Barnes Diaz has become passionate about civic engagement and showing up at the ballot box to demand change at the local, state, and national level.

Josh Cunningham ’25 sees the world differently. A Lillis Scholar with a double major in biochemistry and studio art, he finds overlap between the realms of science and of art in everything. So, when he decided to pursue a summer research project heading into his senior year at the University of Puget Sound, he knew it needed to involve bringing his two disciplines together.

Kevoni Neely ’25, outgoing president of the Associated Students of the University of Puget Sound (ASUPS), is wrapping up her final semester after serving as a key student leader on campus. Neely, who is graduating with a major in African American Studies and a minor in Crime, Law, & Justice Studies, reflects on her time advocating for her fellow students and the university.