Of the approximately 3,650 students who applied for degrees and certificates, more than 2,000 have indicated they will take part in the ceremonies, the first to be held during UofL’s yearlong celebration of its 225^th anniversary. Commencement ceremonies also will be held in December.

Student speakers are Thomas Hulse from the College of Arts & Sciences (morning ceremony) and (afternoon ceremony). 

Hulse, who will pursue a Ph.D. in applied physics at Rice University after graduation, will earn a bachelor of science in physics and a bachelor of arts in political science with minors in mathematics and German. Hylen will earn a bachelor of arts in economics with a minor in Arabic. She will work at an organization that connects youth to service opportunities across the country, then plans to live abroad to continue learning language through immersive experiences.

The ceremony will be broadcast live at . Follow #UofLGrads2023 on social media.

In addition, the UofL Graduate School will host a doctoral hooding and graduation ceremony for approximately 70 graduates at 2 p.m. Friday, May 12, on Belknap Campus in the Swain Student Activities Center (SAC) Ballroom, second floor.

Earlier on May 12, UofL’s U.S. Army ROTC cadre, Cardinal Battalion, will hold a commissioning ceremony, also in the SAC Ballroom. Fourteen cadets will be commissioned as second lieutenants in the U.S. Army at the 9 a.m. event.

UofL’s Air Force ROTC Detachment 295 will hold its commissioning ceremony at noon, May 12, at the Kentucky Derby Museum. Seven cadets will be commissioned as second lieutenants in the U.S. Air Force.

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Hailing from Caguas, Puerto Rico, Sannely has been in the Air Force since 2018 and is currently stationed at Aviano Air Base, Italy. Despite her short time in the Air Force, she already boasts an extensive list of accomplishments including honor graduate from Basic Training, promotion to airman Below-the-Zone and promotion to senior airman six months early.

She was also awarded a Diamond Sharp Award, as well as an Achievement Award for her performance during her installation’s COVID-19 response. Sannely says her favorite Air Force memory so far is the day she graduated basic training when she saw her family and was able to “eat candy and fast food after two months.”

When searching for an online Master of Social Work program, Sannely was looking for a program which was flexible about practicum placement for overseas military members. This search led her to UofL and she knew this was the right place for her when she found out UofL offers a reduced tuition rate of $250 per credit hour for Active Duty, Coast Guard and qualifying members of the National Guard and Reserve for undergraduate and most graduate programs.

According to Sannely, UofL was easy to work with and provided excellent support throughout her enrollment process. In particular, Sannely said Connie Uzzell, admissions coordinator in the Kent School of Social Work, was extremely helpful during the admission process.

While she has only recently started coursework, Sannely said she is also impressed by her professors’ and advisors’ flexibility and understanding. She says her classmates seem genuinely motivated to help make the world a little better.

When she completes her Master’s program, Sannely intends to remain in the Air Force and pursue a commission and career as a Clinical Social Worker.

UofL celebrates the 73^rd birthday of the United States Air Force on September 18. The university has a long tradition of supporting the United States Air Force. Between 1947 and today, hundreds of members of the United States Air Force pursued voluntary education and completed degrees at UofL. Since 1949, UofL has been home to a United States Air Force Reserve Officer Training Command Detachment, which has sent hundreds of Second Lieutenants into the Air Force.

Our AFROTC Detachment and United States Army Reserve Officer Training Command Battalion are housed in Dougherty Hall. The hall is named in honor of retired United States Air Force General Russell E. Dougherty, the former commander-in-chief of United States Strategic Air Command and a 1948 University of Louisville Law School graduate.

Story written by Kyle Hurwitz, director of Military Initiatives and associate director of Online Military Student Programs at UofL. 

Each new officer received a commission certificate, then family members or friends pinned bars to the service members’ uniforms. The tradition of the first salute followed, in which the new second lieutenant presented a silver dollar to the first enlisted person who rendered a salute.

Newly commissioned officers were also assigned to their branches during the Cardinal Battalion Army ROTC ceremony, which took place in Middleton Auditorium.

“It takes a village to teach, coach and mentor these young men and women to where they are today,” said Lieutenant Colonel Jessica Murnock, professor of military science.

Murnock added that the overall GPA of the cadets recognized today is 3.4. 

The guest speaker during the commissioning ceremony was UofL President Neeli Bendapudi.

“You are what I want every student at the University of Louisville to be like because you have shown that you have the physical, the emotional, the mental, the spiritual strength to be here today,” Bendapudi said.

The following Army cadets were promoted: Brayden Bereznay, Alec Hayes, Stephen Schaltenbrand, Morgan Cornell, Zachary Michael, Derick Davidson, Elaine Reitan, Patrick Stewart, Duy Tran, Alexander Jones, Samuel Best, Keith Johnson, Kenneth King, Scott Peters, Joshua Wray, Taeisha Wynder and Omar Cham.

UofL’s Army ROTC has commissioned more than 400 officers during its 37-year history.

In a separate ceremony, four UofL students who were members of the U.S. Air Force’s 295th Air Force ROTC Cadet Wing were also commissioned. 

Promoted were: Kevin Burdette, Nicolas Ferrara, Raymond Palazzo and Dax Parker.

During the Cardinal Battalion Army ROTC ceremony in Middleton Auditorium, the cadets were each commissioned a second lieutenant and assigned to their branches, including infantry and the nurse corps. All will be active duty soldiers.

The new Army officers bring to 427 the total number of officers UofL’s Army ROTC has commissioned during its 35-year history.

Guest speaker Brig. Gen. Brian Mennes, who served in Korea, Iraq and Afghanistan and is the Army’s director of force management, introduced the group as the next generation of U.S. Army leaders.

“We serve to defend what is the most powerful document in the history of mankind: the Constitution,” Mennes told the new officers and their families and friends.

Mennes encouraged the new second lieutenants to be caring, selfless, gifted leaders, adding they need to be fit not just physically, but mentally and spiritually, too.

Lt. Col. Jessica Murnock, UofL professor of military science, said in opening remarks that the commissionees had a combined average GPA of 3.64, and included two who were receiving master’s degrees.

In both ceremonies, each new officer received a commission certificate, then family members or friends pinned bars to the service members’ uniforms.

The tradition of the first salute followed, in which the new second lieutenant presented a silver dollar to the first enlisted person who rendered a salute.

The following were commissioned: Steven Bidwell, Nathaniel Cook, Louis Faust, Samantha Frank, Victoria Henry, Nicholas Kenrick, Joshua Nobile, Clayton Stanley, Eric Thompson, Monica Willard and Connor Williams.

See more Army ROTC photos .

During their ceremony in Ekstrom Library’s Chao Auditorium, the following Air Force cadets were promoted to second lieutenant: David Lewis, Aaron Patterson and Isabella Proctor.

The Air Force cadets are part of the 295^th Air Force ROTC Cadet Wing, led by Lt. Col. Jerry Crigger.

The A.J. Kramer Wingman Award was given to Patterson. Named in honor of Anthony Joseph “A.J” Kramer, an Air Force ROTC cadet who was within months of graduating from UofL in 2013 when he was killed in a motorcycle accident, the award is voted upon by the cadets to honor a graduating cadet who provides exemplary support, leads by example and demonstrates strong integrity, initiative and diplomacy.

See more Air Force ROTC photos .

Video of the Army ROTC is below: