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1,200 students participate in commencement
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![President Mantella at podium](/gvnext/files/img/article/2EBCFCDE-D716-C6F8-CF490F60A137995B/2EFDBA02-D330-4E8C-1DF090BE60B34C7B/original.jpg)
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More than 1,200 students participated in the fall commencement ceremony, December 7 at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids.
The ceremony marked President Philomena V. Mantella's first commencement. She congratulated graduates and said their new diplomas marked a momentous occasion but not the final stop in their learning process.
"College provides an experience that is not contained by time or place," she said. "You will always remember the times, and you will continually build upon the lessons."
Mantella detailed the Laker Lifetime Learning Commitment, a program that will begin in the spring and provide money to alumni to help offset the costs of continuing their education at Grand Valley. "It is our commitment to you to help in your lifelong learning journey," she said.
A.C. Grayling, philosopher, author and the master of London's New College of the Humanities, was the keynote speaker. Nina Nguyen, who earned a bachelor's degree in integrated science and education, also gave remarks.
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