Commencement 2024
UCLA Linguistics Commencement 2024
Sunday, June 16, 2024
5:30 PM
Royce Hall
Keynote Speaker
Dr. Karen Emmorey
Distinguished Professor, San Diego State University
Director, Laboratory for Language and Cognitive Neuroscience
BA in Linguistics, PhD in Linguistics, UCLA
Dr. Karen Emmorey received her Bachelor’s degree (1982) and her doctorate in Linguistics (1987) from UCLA. She was a Staff Scientist at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, CA from 1988-2005, and she is currently a Distinguished Professor in the School of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences at San Diego State University and the Director of the Laboratory for Language and Cognitive Neuroscience. Dr. Emmorey’s research focuses on what sign languages can reveal about the nature of human language, cognition, and the brain. She studies the processes involved in how deaf and hearing people produce and comprehend sign language and how these processes are represented in the brain. Her research interests also include bimodal bilingualism (i.e., sign-speech bilingualism) and the neurocognitive underpinnings of reading skill in profoundly deaf adults.
Undergraduate Student Speaker
Angeline Skye Eusebio Espina
Angeline Skye Eusebio Espina, a 2nd-year transfer student, is graduating with a B.A. in Linguistics and Psychology. Throughout her time at UCLA, Angeline gained extensive and valuable knowledge in Linguistics (phonetics being her favorite), while creating cherished memories and connections. She also played a role in establishing and expanding the social media influencer & marketing organization, REACH, to UCLA’s campus as Vice President of REACH at UCLA, growing the club from zero to over 250 members in just a year and a half. She is deeply grateful for all the opportunities and support she received during her Linguistics undergraduate experience. Angeline plans to pursue a career in Speech-Language Pathology, aiming to serve the Early Intervention population with passion.
Previous Commencements:
UCLA Linguistics Commencement 2023
UCLA Linguistics Commencement 2023
Sunday, June 18, 2023
5:30 PM
Royce Hall
Keynote Speaker
Erika Varis Doggett
Senior Research Scientist, Disney Research Studios
BA in Linguistics & Spanish, UCLA Linguistics
PhD in Linguistics, USC
Dr. Erika Varis Doggett is a Senior Research Scientist at Disney Research Studios, focusing on a variety of topics within machine learning, with special attention to computer vision and natural language processing (NLP) techniques. Recent areas of interest include natural language generation, neural style transfer, inpainting, and anomaly detection. Prior to Disney Research, Dr. Varis Doggett managed an applied research and development AI/machine learning team at Walt Disney Studios and worked in a social media startup as a computational linguist. She received her PhD in Linguistics from the University of Southern California and lectured at the University of Nevada Reno before transitioning to industry in NLP.
Undergraduate Student Speaker
Roniyah Shasanmi
Roniyah Shasanmi is a second-year transfer student graduating with a B.A. in Linguistics and Anthropology and a Minor in French. She hopes to become a visual ethnographer because she is passionate about mixing creativity with education. She decided to pursue linguistics and anthropology because of her desire to understand people and cultures. She believes that learning about communication will help her understand why people behave the way they do and thus will help her better relate to people across cultures. Growing up, her family created an atmosphere that fostered a love of anything artistic. To this day, she enjoys drawing, dancing, singing, writing poetry, photography, and more. In her free time, she likes to do things with friends and family, from visiting museums to playing board games.
A Message From Our Chair
Dear Linguists from the Class of 2023,
Congratulations on receiving your UCLA degree. You triumphed over our rigorous and challenging program with all your hard work and talent! You crushed COVID zoom classes! You even triumphed over the awkward return to campus 18 months later! You are more than prepared for anything this universe can throw at you!
We – all your faculty, TAs, and staff – are thrilled to host the second Royce Hall Commencement ceremony for you. I hope to see you, and everyone who contributed to your success, at the UCLA Linguistics Graduation event.
We wish you every success in this world. And don’t be strangers. We want to know what you are doing with your degrees. So, please join us on the burgeoning UCLA Linguistics LinkedIn group. A fellow Bruin Linguist awaits, wherever life takes you.
With best wishes,
Megha Sundara
Department Chair and Professor
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A Message from Our Chair
Dear Linguists from the Class of 2024,
Congratulations on receiving your UCLA degree. You are now part of a select group of individuals who can discuss laterals, lambdas, and locatives! With all your hard work, and your persistence, you have mastered our rigorous and challenging program! You are ready to take the world by storm!
We – all your faculty, TAs, and staff – are thrilled to host the third Royce Hall Commencement ceremony for you. I hope to see you, and everyone who contributed to your success, at the UCLA Linguistics Graduation event.
We wish you every success in this world. And don’t be strangers. We want to know what you are doing with your degrees. So, please join us on the burgeoning UCLA Linguistics LinkedIn group. A fellow Bruin Linguist awaits, wherever life takes you.
With best wishes,
Megha Sundara
Department Chair and Professor
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General Information for Students
Eligibility to participate:
Undergraduate Students
To be eligible to participate, undergraduate students must have a declared degree expectancy term for Fall 2023 through Summer 2024 in one of our Linguistics majors or minors.
Fall 2024 graduates who wish to participate in the June 2024 commencement ceremony should submit their automatically-approved Special Inclusion Petition through the commencement ticket portal on MyUCLA. The automatically-approved SIP will become available on Monday, April 1st and will close on Friday, May 31st at 11:59pm (PST).. It is the student’s responsibility to ensure that these requirements are met.
For details on the College of Letters and Sciences Ceremony, please visit the LS Commencement event website.
Undergraduate Students should contact Leigh Bagood at leigh@humnet.ucla.edu for any questions regarding the ceremony.
Graduate Students
Students filing or who have filed their doctoral dissertation or MA thesis in Summer 2023 through Spring 2024 may participate.
You can find more information on the UCLA Doctoral Hooding Ceremony for 2023-2024 doctoral candidates on the UCLA Graduate Division website.
Student Regalia Ordering (Both undergraduate and graduate students): Students must wear regalia to take part in the ceremony (this is your ticket into the ceremony when you check-in). Students should order regalia through Graduation Etc. starting March 4, 2024 (pickups start March 11). It is recommended that a student order their regalia by the beginning of May 2024.
Ticketing:
Both undergraduate and graduate students
- The ticketing window for students for department events is scheduled for Friday of Spring Quarter’s Week 6, and ends on Friday of Week 8 @ 11:59PM PST via the Commencement Feature on my.ucla.edu. (Tickets to the College Commencement Ceremony can be requested starting Thursday of Spring Quarter’s Week 5. See the LS Commencement Website for College Commencement ticketing information).
- Participating students are eligible for 4 free guest tickets. Additionally, students have the option to purchase up to 4 additional tickets at $20/each (charged to your student BAR account).*
- Guest tickets will be distributed to your email address (as indicated in MyUCLA) between Tuesday of Week 9 through Thursday, June 13, 2024. It will be sent from the Central Ticket Office (cto@tickets.ucla.edu) and will contain a link for you to receive your electronic tickets. Keep in mind that department ceremony tickets will arrive in a separate set of email messages from the College Commencement tickets. Please be sure to check that your email account is accurate in MyUCLA, and also check your email account’s SPAM folder frequently, to be sure you do not overlook these important messages.
*NOTE: As a student you do not need your own graduate ticket for the department ceremony. Your regalia and online RSVP are all that is needed to check in at the department ceremony.
Accommodations: ASL Interpreters will be present at our ceremony. If students need any other accommodations related to disabilities for the event, please contact Leigh Bagood (leigh@humnet.ucla.edu) by Monday, June 3, 2024 with your UID number and further details.
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Royce Hall Safety Procedures
To ensure a safe and smooth-running ceremony for all, Royce Hall will be implementing the following measures:
- Clear bags or coin purses ONLY allowed, details below:
- Clear plastic, vinyl or PVC and do not exceed 12”W x 12”H x 6”D
- One gallon clear plastic freezer bag (Ziploc bag or similar)
- Small clutch bag 4.5” x 6/5”, with or without a handle or strap. This can be carried separately or within a plastic bag.
- Diaper bags – infant for which bag is carried must be present
Prohibited items:
- Balloons
- Banners
- Firearms
- Flags
- Food
- Knives
- Noise makers
- Non water beverages
- Non-Closeable water bottles
- Opaque / non-clear backpacks or other bags
- Pepper spray
- Selfie sticks
- Signage
- Tasers
- Tripods
- Umbrellas
- Weapons of any kind
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COVID Protocols and Parking
Parking:
Purchase in Advance: Students and guests attending the 2024 Commencement ceremonies can buy parking permits online through the Bruin ePermit Event Parking Portal starting May 1. To skip long lines at the self-service pay stations on campus, we recommend purchasing your parking permit ahead of attending the Commencement ceremonies.
For full details and instructions on Commencement Parking, please visit the UCLA Transportation website: https://www.transportation.ucla.edu/campus-parking/commencement-parking.
COVID Protocols
As of May 2022, the UCLA campus does not require event attendees to provide a COVID-19 clearance check. For all guests and attendees, we ask that you do not attend the event if you are experiencing COVID-related symptoms in order to protect the health and safety of all attendees. Masking is strongly recommended but not required indoors.
Please visit the Information for visitors – COVID-19 and vaccine resources page for more information on UCLA’s guidance for non-affiliated guests invited to campus. We ask and appreciate that everyone be considerate and respectful of one another’s decisions.
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Keep in touch
To keep in touch with the latest UCLA Linguistics Department news, please join our mailing list. If you have updates on your accomplishments and journey, feel free to email us.
Erika Varis Doggett
Roniyah Shasanmi