Commencement ceremonies set for May 10

April 30, 2025 - More than 650 students will receive their degrees from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls during three spring Commencement ceremonies on Saturday, May 10. All three ceremonies will be held at Page Arena inside the Falcon Center, 185 Emogene Nelson Ave.

564 students will receive bachelor’s degrees, 85 will receive master’s degrees and nine will receive doctorate degrees, representing the first cohort of Montessori studies doctoral students.
Commencement day will be divided into three ceremonies:

• 8:30 a.m. – College of Education, Business and Allied Health (CEBAH); Graduate Studies
• 11:30 a.m. – College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences (CAFES)
• 2 p.m. – College of Arts and Sciences (CAS)

Each ceremony will feature a student speaker representing their college. Madison O’Donnell will speak at the 8:30 a.m. ceremony, Katie Zimmer will represent CAFES by speaking at the 11:30 a.m. ceremony, while Jack Schindler Van Hoof will be the student speaker at the CAS ceremony at 2 p.m.

O’Donnell, a social work major from St. Paul, Minn., chose UW-River Falls for its welcoming campus and strong academic programs. During her time at UWRF, she completed an internship at Red Wing High School, led the Student Social Work Association and conducted research on mental health perceptions. She also served as a resident assistant and was involved in the women’s soccer club.

Zimmer, a Glen Flora native and agricultural business and agricultural education double major, developed a passion for agriculture and a love of learning that led her to UW-River Falls. She has been actively involved in numerous organizations while on campus, including Sigma Alpha, the Agricultural Education Society and Student Government Association. She also served as a campus ambassador and student advisor for Agriculture Future of America.

An English and creative writing major from Hudson, Van Hoof has led the Student Voice, the UWRF student newspaper, as editor-in-chief since 2022, writing more than 35 stories on campus news and public affairs. He has earned several journalism awards and the Chancellor’s Award for Students and is also active in the campus literary magazine, “Prologue.”

All three ceremonies will be livestreamed at youtube.com/@uwriverfalls/streams. For more information, visit students.uwrf.edu/commencement.

Photo 1: Madison O’Donnell headshot.
Photo 2: Katie Zimmer headshot.
Photo 3: Jack Schindler Van Hoof headshot.