April 29, 2019 | UHCL Staff
More than 1,200 University of Houston-Clear Lake students are expected to cross the stage at two commencement ceremonies on Sunday, May 19, at NRG Arena, 1 NRG Park. Houston. A total of 715 will receive bachelor’s degrees; 479 will receive their master’s degree and 10 will receive their doctorate.
At noon, the College of Human Sciences and Humanities will confer degrees to 348 candidates, and the College of Science and Engineering will honor 301. UHCL alumna Denise S. Navarro, founder, president and CEO of Logical Innovations Inc., will deliver the commencement address. Logical Innovations is a small business that provides an array of technical and operational services to the federal government and the commercial sector.
At 5 p.m., 173 candidates in the College of Education will receive degrees, as will 382 in the College of Business. The commencement speaker is Michael Marquez, also a UHCL alumnus. Marquez is principal of McWhirter Elementary School in Clear Creek ISD.
Navarro, who completed her bachelor of science in computer information systems in 1986 and went on to achieve her MBA in 1991 from UHCL, began her career as a NASA contractor. She decided to use her knowledge and experience to start her own company, and incorporated Logical Innovations, Inc. in 2006, while still working full-time. Her company is headquartered in Houston, with additional operations in southern California, Florida, New Mexico, and Washington, D.C.
Logical Innovations continues to serve the local community by nurturing future generations through the UH-Clear Lake Logical Innovations Hawk Advantage Scholarship, an endowed STEM internship at UHCL, the Logical Innovations Scholarships with the College of the Mainland Foundation, student sponsorships for STEM/educational activities and sports programs.
Marquez became principal of McWhirter Elementary in 2008, where he has made volunteering a top priority. His school hosts adult ESL classes and citizenship classes after school hours, with evening classes paired with literacy classes for school aged-children. Through the Communities in Schools program, Marquez also helps oversee a full-time social worker, who assists school families with counseling, clothing, school supplies and other needs. He has strong ties to UHCL, having achieved his master’s in educational management in 1999. He was named UHCL Alumni Association Distinguished Alumnus in 2018.
This spring’s degree candidates will join more than 69,000 others who have graduated the university. UHCL began as an upper-level university in 1974, admitting juniors, seniors and graduate students. In 2011, the university gained approval from the state to add freshman- and sophomore-level courses to its roster and welcomed its first freshman class in fall 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.
Friday, May 17, UHCL’s Alumni Association will host Soaring Hawks – a reception for graduates, friends and families from 6-7:30 p.m. in Atrium II of the Bayou Building.
