UHCL spring commencement ceremonies May 20 at NRG Arena

May 4, 2018 | Jim Townsend

Nearly 1,300 University of Houston-Clear Lake students are expected to graduate this spring semester. Of those, approximately 1,100 plan to cross the stage at two commencement ceremonies on Sunday, May 20, at NRG Arena, 1 NRG Park, Houston. A total 582 will receive bachelor’s degrees; 480 will receive their master’s degree and 14 will receive doctorate degrees.

At noon, the College of Business will confer degrees to 297 candidates; the College of Human Sciences and Humanities will honor 307. Alumna Mary Anne Brelinksy, president of EDF Energy Services and managing director of EDF Trading North America LLC, will deliver the commencement address. EDF is an international firm that manages large-scale electricity and natural gas assets.

At 5 p.m., 165 candidates in the College of Education will receive degrees, as will 307 in the College of Science and Engineering. The commencement speaker is alumnus Michael Larrañaga, principal consultant at Ramboll, a global sustainability solutions provider.

Brelinsky, who received an MBA from UHCL in 2000, has worked with other energy and utility executives to assure that large businesses, industries and communities have reliable and affordable electricity from a resilient power grid. At EDF, she brokers trades in the high-finance energy market, setting corporate strategy, hedging, and profitability targets for customers in the U.S. and Canada. Brelinksy currently serves on the boards of directors of Atlas Scholars, DK Energy, the Gulf Coast Power Association, the Greater Houston Women’s Chamber of Commerce, the Advisory Council for Women’s Energy Network, and University of Houston’s Energy Advisory Board.

At Ramboll, Larrañaga advises governments and corporations on strategies for business continuity, supply chain resilience and more. He received his master’s in environmental science from UHCL in 1998. He is a member of a Department of Homeland Security think tank that develops technology solutions to the most pressing technological issues facing our nation’s first responders. Larrañaga, who is the 2018 honoree for UHCL’s Early Achievement Award, has served as a consultant in the automotive, government, construction, educational, transportation, nuclear, refining, chemical and manufacturing industries. He has a doctorate in industrial and human factors engineering from Texas Tech University.

This spring’s degree candidates will join more than 66,000 others who have graduated the university. UHCL began as an upper-level university in 1974, admitting juniors, seniors and graduate students. The ceremonies mark the graduation of UHCL’s first class of freshmen since the university’s expansion to underclassmen in 2014.

NRG Arena is located beside NRG Stadium and the Astrodome. Guests do not need tickets to attend. There is a fee for parking and attendants only take cash. For the sports complex’s latest parking information, follow the links at www.uhcl.edu/academics/commencement/parking.

Friday, May 18, UHCL’s Alumni Association will host Senior Send-off – formally known as Soaring Hawks Celebration – a reception for graduates, friends and families from 6-8 p.m. in Atrium II of the Bayou Building. The event is free but advance tickets are required. Graduated were mailed complimentary tickets; they can pick up additional tickets until noon, May 17, at University Advancement (Bayou 1604) or the Office of Student Life (SSCB 1.204).