Saint Martin’s University graduates 492 students

Earning a degree in social work from Saint Martin’s University wasn’t easy, said Shelton resident Tamara Bellisle. Like the rest of Saturday’s graduates, she had to balance homework, classes and the trials of entering adulthood.

But Bellisle had an extra challenge: a 5-month-old daughter named MaLeah.

After months of attending classes with her mother, MaLeah also attended graduation in her mother’s arms, clad in a cap and gown.

“She was always in class with me, so she needed to be here today,” Bellisle said. “She’s a really good baby, but it was still really hard.”

She said the baby is popular with her classmates, and the support of the students in her cohort was a big help.

“Everyone was so supportive, I think because we’re such a small cohort,” Bellisle said. “So I’m here. I’m graduating.”

Bellisle was among 492 graduates who gathered on the university’s steps Saturday afternoon, sweltering in their black robes and caps. Several people had made an effort to stand out, painting messages on their caps in glitter and bright colors.

One mortarboard read, “Hotter by one degree,” another, “Officially a BA.” One woman’s hat said, “Beauty may be dangerous, but intelligence is lethal.”

The graduates paraded through campus and into the Marcus Pavilion, where they were greeted by family, friends, staff and faculty.

Co-speakers Armandino “Dino” Batali and Terence Monaghan, who graduated in 1959 and 1962, respectively, advised the graduates to use their degrees well and enter the world without fear.

Olympia native Michaela Kier was given the honor of valedictorian this year, graduating summa cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in accounting. She has a 3.98 cumulative grade point average. She earned several scholarships during her time at Saint Martins and interned for the state Auditor’s Office. She also worked as a legislative aide for Sen. Linda Evans Parlette, R-Chelan.

Kier said she plans to earn her certified public accountant license and will intern for Moss Adams LLP in Tacoma this summer.

During her speech, Kier joked about her degree, before taking a more serious tone.

“I was going to incorporate something funny into my speech,” Kier said. “But then I realized, I’m an accountant.”

Kier said that she and her fellow graduates attended Saint Martin’s University for a variety of reasons: to get better jobs, to affect the world, to find happiness. But one of the most important things to take away, she said, is wisdom.

“Wisdom requires honesty, the honesty to admit that we don’t have all the answers and to be teachable,” Kier said.

A combination of both wisdom and knowledge is essential to succeeding in life, she said.

This year’s salutatorian is Marcus Sheppard of Lakewood, who graduated with a bachelor’s degree in biology and a 3.95 cumulative grade point average.

Sheppard also received several scholarships while at Saint Martins and has been accepted to the University of Washington and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center post baccalaureate research education program. He plans to transition to the University of Washington’s medical school in the fall of 2017.

This story was originally published May 7, 2016 at 4:26 PM with the headline "Saint Martin’s University graduates 492 students."