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Graduate College, College of Business, College of Health and Human Services, College of Musical Arts, College of Technology, Architecture and Applied Engineering, and BGSU Firelands
BGSU Firelands College Commencement.
Commencement Speakers:
Jacob D. Smith ’07 ’09 ’11
Jacob D. Smith is the congressional staff assistant for U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur covering veteran services, military, IRS and postal service casework. He served in the U.S. Army from 2000-04 as a field artilleryman and was deployed to Baghdad, Iraq, with the 1st Armored Division as a sergeant from 2003-04. He continues to serve his country through volunteer efforts as a board member and trustee of Honor Flight Cleveland, an organization that, through funding and support, enables veterans to travel to Washington, D.C., to visit memorial sites free of charge
Melanie Craig ’17
Melanie Craig is graduating with her second degree from BGSU Firelands, an Associate of Applied Science in human services. A nontraditional student, Craig enrolled in BGSU Firelands in spring 2015 and has been active in student organizations and special events on and off campus. She received an Associate of Science in 2017 and is now pursuing a bachelor’s degree in social work with a minor in political science from Bowling Green State University, and plans to graduate in August 2019.
Graduate College, College of Business, College of Health and Human Services. Guest speaker John M. Starcher Jr., Esq. ’93 - John Starcher is president and CEO of Bon Secours Mercy Health. As the leader of one of the largest health care systems in the country, he oversees the development of system strategies and operations for 43 Mercy Health and Bon Secours hospitals and more than 1,000 sites of care across Ohio, Kentucky, New York, Maryland, Virginia, South Carolina and Florida. Bon Secours Mercy Health employs more than 57,000 people, including 2,100 employed providers, and has net operating revenue of more than $8 billion
College of Education and Human Development, College of Technology, Architecture, and Applied Engineering. Commencement Speaker: Dean Pees ’72
Dean Pees, a two-time Super Bowl winning coach, is a graduate of Bowling Green State University with a Bachelor of Science in education. Pees has taught and coached football for 46 years at all levels: high school, college and the NFL. He is currently the defensive coordinator of the Tennessee Titans in the NFL. Before his 15 years in the NFL, Pees spent 25 years as a college coach and six years as a high school teacher and coach.
College of Arts and Sciences and the College of Musical Arts. The commencement speaker was Mizell Stewart III. In more than three decades as a journalist, Mizell Stewart III has been an award-winning reporter, top newsroom editor in three states, radio and television broadcaster and corporate news executive. Today, Stewart is a senior news executive for Gannett and the USA Today Network. He is an adjunct faculty member at the Poynter Institute for Media Studies and the founder of Emerging Leaders LLC, a leadership development consulting firm focused on mid-career professionals