| Academic Convocation held at Cameron University
, Lawton, Oklahoma An Academic Convocation was held at Cameron University on September 25, 2009 at the Louise D. McMahon Fine Arts Complex Courtyard. The convocation is the only campus-wide event whose sole purpose is to focus on our joint academic enterprise. It is important to attend this colorful and festive ceremony. Students are encouraged to attend. Faculty are given the opportunity to allow students to attend or bring their class as a whole. Opening this ceremony is an academic procession whose roots reach back into the earliest days of the oldest colleges and universities. Representatives of each school and department within Cameron University march together, preceded by their respective organizational banners, and garbed in academic regalia that distinguishes them from their colleagues in other fields of learning. The procession manifests a collegiality of thought and action, while maintaining appropriate distinctions. The Platform Party which consists of the President, Vice Presidents, Deans, the Chair of Faculty Senate, the Student Government President, designated Regents and speakers leads the processional. At the center of the life of the university are the combined efforts of students and faculty to achieve academic excellence as it is defined in their chosen fields of specialization. At Cameron, there are active chapters of sixteen national and international honor societies. Membership in these societies represents the achievement of a high standard of academic excellence. In acknowledging the accomplishments of members of these societies, we acknowledge the efforts of all our faculty and students that create the environment in which our students have discovered and achieved excellence. Dominique Honders of Nevis was one of four student speakers at the Convocation. Her speech was well received by the audience and she received the congratulations of the President and the Deans of a number of Faculties. The speakers were introduced by the President Dr. Cindy Ross. Dominique was born on the island of Saint Martin in the Caribbean and raised on the nearby island of Nevis. Senior Dominique Honders represented the School of Business. She will graduate this December with a degree in Business, specializing in both Marketing and Management. Honders has been an active member of numerous organizations, including Phi Eta Sigma, the Cameron Campus Ministries Student Leadership team, and the Student of Caribbean Alliance (SOCA). She is also the reigning queen from Cameron�s SOCArnival festival. Prior to coming to Cameron she worked in Disaster Preparedness for the Government (Nevis Island Administration) back in her homeland, and since coming to the United States has traveled twice to New Orleans to assist in relief efforts from Hurricane Katrina. After graduation from Cameron, she plans to pursue her master�s degree in Hospitality and Tourism Management from Hoge Hotelschool Maastricht in Holland. (article taken from the University website with some changes/additions) Speech given by Dominique Honders at the Academic Convocation at Cameron University "Today I am filled with pride, today I am appreciative, today I am given the opportunity to show my gratitude and today I am proud to be an Aggie. It has been a long but memorable tenure here at Cameron. My Journey started in fall 2006 and whoa would I have appreciated a crash course on what I was to embark on. It was a shock for me both academically and culturally. Initially when I started my program I was a technology major but it did not take long for me to find out that was not what I wanted to do. While sitting in the hall way one day waiting on a friend I was met with the brightest smile and the warmest �hello, is someone helping you� I have ever experienced. It was the smile of my advisor Mr. Velton Flowers. I was so taken back all I did was smile and nod yes. That was the beginning of me being a business major. Over the years I have grown, not only on an academic level but as an individual; a driving force for me was and still is the dedicated faculty. I have to commend them because they contribute so much to my success and helping me build a rock solid foundation that I will need when I leave Cameron. My academic experience was a challenging but a fulfilling one. I fought and toiled hard for what I have achieved. My professors always ensured if not anything else that we learn something upon at the end of the course. One professor in particular has pushed me, carried me, told me a thing or two when I was not performing to my ability, nurtured me, and molded me, Dr. Paridon. He has inspired me in so many ways. Three years and a few grey hairs later I am about to cash in on and invest the wealth of knowledge that I have attained. What I have experienced here cannot be replaced or taken away from me because I am Cameron certified. I would like to say a heartfelt thank you to the faculty and staff here at Cameron because you are all truly amazing. You are all simply the best. " |
| Speech by Dominique Honders (former staff member at NDMD) at Academic Convocation at Cameron University |
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