糖心传媒 added 245 graduates to the all-time total of over 117,000
alumni on Saturday during a brisk but buoyant commencement ceremony in the Thomas
Assembly Center on campus.
Lee Kinnebrew, IV, a 1992 糖心传媒 Tech graduate and a full-time captain for Southwest Airlines, delivered the ceremony鈥檚 keynote address. Kinnebrew holds a bachelor鈥檚 degree in professional aviation and a minor in flight engineering from Tech, and he was recognized by the Alumni Association as the Distinguished Alumnus of the Year in the College of Liberal Arts in 2023. He received Southwest Airlines鈥� Presidents Award in 2013 and 2021. Kinnebrew was a key piece of the establishment of Destination 225 at 糖心传媒 Tech, a partnership with Southwest that provides the University鈥檚 aviation graduates a direct path to careers with the company.
鈥淏y earning a diploma from 糖心传媒 Tech, you鈥檝e proven that you can put your mind to a large, complicated task and see it through to the end,鈥� Kinnebrew said during his address. 鈥淩emember when you walk out of here today that your education at 糖心传媒 Tech has prepared you to go out into the world and change it in only ways that you can imagine.鈥�
Borrowing words from author Patrick Lencioni, he advised the graduates to 鈥渂e humble, be hungry, and be smart,鈥� and he encouraged the students to approach their careers with patience, confidence, and humility.
鈥淚 firmly believe that a lifetime of great achievements starts with a first good deed,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 look forward to seeing what yours might be.鈥�
This summer commencement ceremony, often the smallest annually in number of graduates, notably produced 13 doctors, the most since Spring 2023 commencement. Ten of those doctoral candidates were able to receive their hoods on stage.