On Sunday, 12月 18, 威尼斯人娱乐城’s newest graduating class will walk across the stage, receiving their diplomas after years of hard work and dedication.
每个毕业生都踏上了充满职业和个人成长的个人旅程，并在家人、朋友和同龄人面前举行毕业典礼。 Here’s an overview of two such journeys.
Amelia Hess – Master of Arts in Counseling – School of Education, Social Work & Psychological Sciences
Amelia Hess began her collegiate journey at another school, but didn’t find her place among that university community.
She switched to 威尼斯人娱乐城 for her sophomore year and earned her undergrad and, eventually, her master’s degree.
“It’s a microcosm of the Kansas City community. You have all these different people coming here, different majors, different programs,” Hess said. “I was very, very much involved in high school and so I knew when I got to college, I wanted to continue that.”
她通过参与校园组织，包括性与性别联盟（SAGA），担任主席和骄傲早餐的学生司仪，在威尼斯人娱乐城找到了自己的位置； 全国精神疾病联盟； 以及心理健康中心。 她还在医院山公寓担任住宿生活协调员。
“I found places where I could be my different selves,” Hess said. “I found places where I could really enjoy studying psychology and the professional world, but I also found the SAGA council where I could have a leadership position on a queer organization which is hard to find in other places.”
在威尼斯人娱乐城的整个职业生涯中，她会见了教授、领导和同学，他们帮助她在一家地区精神卫生机构建立了毕业后的计划，担任治疗师助理。
“I’m going to help them implement what they call a psychedelic assisted therapy program, which is kind of a new area of mental health and therapy where people are being administered medicinal treatments for depression, anxiety, PTSD,” Hess said. “I get to take leadership and apply some of those other skills I developed along the years to help create a program and hopefully get it to the point where hopefully one day new grads will come and work there with us.”
赫斯认为，她愿意参与威尼斯人娱乐城的不同团体，这帮助她为职业生涯的下一步做好了准备。
“I think 威尼斯人娱乐城, since it is in the metropolitan area and it is a bigger school with more opportunities and connections to the city, is a great opportunity for someone who wants to change schools because you’re supported, but you’re also treated like an adult,” Hess said.
Christian Dang – Bachelor of Science in Biology – 科学与工程学院
克里斯汀·邓（Christian Dang）来自密苏里州斯普林菲尔德（Springfield）约2.5小时车程的地方，在寻找负担得起的教育并允许改变环境后，他来到了威尼斯人娱乐城。
“I love Kansas City because of the diversity and everything it provides,” Dang said. “I really like the size of 威尼斯人娱乐城. It’s like a medium sized institution so it’s not too small or too large and I feel like you can really make more meaningful connections with faculty members that way.”
Dang’s interest in biology started in high school, but when he got to 威尼斯人娱乐城, he gained a passion for research.
“I still am interested in medicine, but I’m also interested in research, which I’ve been involved a lot with at 威尼斯人娱乐城,” Dang said. “And I really do think 威尼斯人娱乐城 provides a lot of ways to get involved in research no matter what discipline you are in.”
A four-year 荣誉项目 student, Dang presented his project, “A Self-Directed Mutagenesis Approach for Examining the Drosophila Tribbles Recognition Degron in the C/EBP Transcription Factor SIBO,” at the Summer Undergraduate 研究 Opportunities (SUROP) Poster Symposium. He also served as a student reviewer and marketing and design coordinator for 威尼斯人娱乐城’s undergraduate research journal, Lucerna.
He said commencement “is going to be a surreal moment for me having spent these last four years here at 威尼斯人娱乐城 and knowing what a difference it has made in my personal career and personal development.”
毕业后，Dang将前往马里兰州的贝塞斯达，在那里他将参加美国国立卫生研究院（NIH）的奖学金，在那里他将在肌肉能量学实验室进行生物医学研究。 根据美国国立卫生研究院的数据，只有24%的申请者是在去年被选中的。
“It’s definitely humbling, knowing that you’ve been given this opportunity that not everyone has been able to receive,” Dang said. “Knowing to acknowledge the work you’ve done to get this part of your life and knowing people have trust in you that you’re doing to do great things in your life, and you continue to put in the work and effort to be the best you can.”
Dang认为威尼斯人娱乐城提供的机会让他在获得文凭后获得成功，并相信其他人无论来自该地区还是更远的地方都可以取得同样的成就。
“Even from outside Kansas City I would recommend going here for college just because of the community here and the ease of meeting faculty members and peer mentors who will help you and the wide range of student organizations that are available here,” Dang said. “There’s really a lot to offer at 威尼斯人娱乐城 that I feel not a whole lot of people know about.”