University graduates 5,000 Dec. 18

<p>About 5,000 ASU students received a holiday present, as they took home their degrees from ASU’s commencement Dec. 18.</p><separator></separator><p>The ceremony took place beginning at 10 a.m. in Wells Fargo Arena.</p><separator></separator><p>On hand to receive their degrees was about 730 graduates from the Downtown Phoenix campus – including 267 nurses – and about 965 from the West campus, plus another 520 from the Polytechnic campus and 3,000 from Tempe.</p><separator></separator><p>Individual colleges and schools also had their own smaller convocation ceremonies, spread out over Dec. 17-19.</p><separator></separator><p>Among the graduates is David Paul, a determined young man who lost his eyesight and both of his legs 10 years ago in an automobile accident. After mastering Braille and learning to use a computer program that converts text into audio, he enrolled at ASU in 2000. Paul is graduating cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in economics from the W. P. Carey School of Business.</p><separator></separator><p>Bobby Ochoa, a political science major in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, received a Moeur Award from the ASU Alumni Association for graduating with 4.0 grade-point averages, with all his coursework taken at ASU. He is from Livermore, Calif.</p><separator></separator><p>Individual cultural groups also held smaller convocation ceremonies that week at each campus. For a convocation schedule and more information on fall commencement activities, go to <a href="http://www.asu.edu/graduation/fall/index.html">www.asu.edu/graduation/f… fall commencement ceremony was broadcast live on the Web at <a href="http://live.asu.edu">http://live.asu.edu</a>.</p><separator></separator… during fall commencement and convocation ceremonies is free in most permit lots, with the exception of reserved spaces and carpool stalls.</p><separator></separator><p>Visitor lots and meters will continue to require payment. A map of the Tempe campus with parking locations can be found online at <a href="http://www.asu.edu/map">www.asu.edu/map</a>.</p&gt;