Local students awarded at Utah Tech’s 113th Commencement Ceremony
ST. GEORGE, UT — Utah Tech University celebrated the 2024 graduating class of 2,967 students at its 113th Commencement ceremonies on Friday, May 3.
According to a press release from Utah Tech University, during the first ceremony, held in the morning on May 3 at the Greater Zion Stadium at Utah Tech University, 31 percent of graduates earned their associate degree. During the evening ceremony, 37 percent of the graduates received a bachelor’s degree, 31 percent received a certificate, and one percent earned their master’s degree.
Local students honored at Utah Tech’s 113th Commencement Ceremony include Angel Velasquez of El Centro, Lewis Kunzler of Brawley, and Sydney Andrade of Blythe.
“Utah Tech University is excited to celebrate its 2024 graduating class,” Interim President Courtney White said. “We are so proud of our graduates’ accomplishments and can’t wait to see the impact they have on the world as they take what they’ve learned here at Utah Tech and blaze new trails well into the future.”
Utah Tech’s 113th graduating class was made up of 39 percent males and 61 percent females, with the youngest being 16 and the oldest being 68. Among the nearly 3,000 graduates celebrated, 41 U.S. states were represented, and 17 countries outside of the
U.S. were also represented.
The top five bachelor’s degrees awarded were in nursing, exercise science, psychology, management and communication studies.
Jared Smith, a bachelor’s degree recipient in nursing, was named the 2024 Valedictorian.
“I am overwhelmed with gratitude for the experiences and people who have influenced my life during my time at Utah Tech University,” Smith said in the release. “Utah Tech is a great place, but what really makes it one-of-a-kind are the people you meet here.”
For more information about Utah Tech University, please visit utahtech.edu.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — After massive downpours flooded California’s rivers and packed mountains with snow, the state reported Monday the first increase in groundwater supplies in four years.
The state saw 4.1 million acre-feet of managed groundwater recharge in the water year ending in September, and an 8.7 million acre-feet increase in groundwater storage, California’s Department of Water Resources said. Groundwater supplies are critical to growing much of the country’s fresh produce.
The semiannual report came after water o§cials stepped up e¨orts during last year’s rains to capture water flows from melting snowpack in the mountains and encouraged farmers to flood fields to replenish groundwater basins.
“The impressive recharge numbers in 2023 are the result of hard work by the local agencies combined with dedicated e¨orts from the state, but we must do more to be prepared to capture and store water when the wet years come,” Paul Gosselin, deputy director of sustainable water management for the agency, said in a statement.
California has been seeking to step up groundwater recharge with ever- drier years expected from climate change. Much of the state’s population counts on groundwater for drinking water in their homes, and farmers that grow much of the country’s food rely on the precious resource for crops ranging from carrots and almonds to berries and leafy greens.
For many years, Californians pumped groundwater from wells without measuring how much they were taking. But as some wells ran dry and land began sinking, the state enacted a law requiring local communities to start measuring and regulating groundwater pumping to ensure the basins would be sustainable for years to come.
In Monday’s report, California water o§cials noted that some areas where land had been sinking saw a rebound as users pumped less groundwater since more surface water was available following the rains. Overall, the state extracted 9.5 million acre- feet of groundwater during the last water year, down from 17 million a year before, the report said.
Some farmers in California have reported seeing a recovery in their wells this year, prompting them to question how much the state needs to cut groundwater pumping. Joaquin Contente, a dairy farmer in the croprich San Joaquin Valley, said he has seen recovery in his wells, with one returning to 19 feet (5.8 meters) deep from more than 30 feet (9.1 meters) deep two years ago.