African master’s student among thousands to graduate from UF in next month

April 25, 2012

Kalala, originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo, had to travel to several countries to find Internet access to complete his application, a process that took him a year.

The struggles did not end in Africa. Once in Florida, Kalala had to overcome the language barrier and find his way around a foreign campus. “It was a hard first semester,” he said.

Kalala, 37, already had an undergraduate degree in agronomy from the Evangelical University in Africa and had worked for several groups such as Doctors Without Borders and the International Crisis Group when he heard about the master’s in sustainable development practice. This will be its first graduating class.

He worked with women who were victims of violence in the Congo civil war and hopes to continue this work by helping to create sustainable agricultural practices that will alleviate poverty and improve health through balanced nutrition.

Kalala’s degree is among 9,333 degrees applied for this semester, according to the Registrar’s Office. Of those, 5,777 are bachelor’s degrees. There are 2,240 master’s degrees, 21 specialist degrees and 355 doctoral degree applications. A total of 7,308 graduates have ordered regalia, according to officials at the UF Bookstore.

The ceremony for doctoral degrees begins at 4 p.m. Friday. Master’s and specialist degree graduation will be held at 4 p.m. May 4, and undergraduate ceremonies will take place May 5-6. Most ceremonies will be held in the O’Connell Center. The College of Fine Arts will hold its ceremony in University Auditorium. The colleges of Nursing and Design, Construction and Planning will hold their ceremonies in the Phillips Center for the Performing Arts. For details on any of the commencement ceremonies, go to http://www.registrar.ufl.edu/commencement/schedulespr.html.

Outstanding four-year undergraduate scholars who will be recognized are Sierra Seaman, Nicholas Abt, Krista Seraydar and Alison Schwartz. Outstanding undergraduate leaders are Sierra Seaman, Justin Fisch, Beatriz Hernandez, Anthony Reynolds, Dayme Sanchez and Michael Andrews.

The speaker at the doctoral degree ceremony is Nirupama Rao, India’s ambassador to the United States. The College of Medicine’s commencement speaker is singer Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul and Mary.

Honorary degrees will be given to Dr. William Evans, chief executive officer of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital; Dr. James Free, one of the researchers who created Gatorade; and Robert Rietti, an actor, director, playwright and broadcaster.

Professional degree ceremonies will begin May 7 and will continue through June 23.