The University of Washington, Tacoma graduation Friday was overflowing with compelling stories of interesting graduates.

Back in March, for instance, 25-year-old Ben Warner began his quest to ride his long board – a long version of a skateboard – from San Diego to Savannah, Ga. Along the way, he planned to publicize the importance of after-school programs and raise money for the Boys & Girls Clubs of South Puget Sound.

At commencement, a speaker announced Warner worried that he might not complete the journey in time for his UWT graduation at the Tacoma Dome. But he finished the trip and made it to graduation.

Another newly minted graduate started life in Africa. Here's his description from the UWT:

Wemba-Koy Okonda, Spanaway, and his wife fled a bloody revolution in the Democratic Republic of Congo 12 years ago to give their children a better life. Okonda worked overtime to support his eight children while attending classes at the University of Washington Tacoma. At this year’s Commencement, he graduates with a bachelor’s degree in computing and software systems.

A commencement speaker said Okonda's father and niece obtained special visas to attend the graduation.

I went to the graduation, but missed the joyous scene afterward with his family.
Jill Carnell Danseco, the UWT public information specialist, tells me that Okonda and his family danced and sang through the crowd for a good 10 minutes or so. The family also observed a custom from their homeland: sprinkling baby powder on the new graduate.

Here are great photos by Jill capturing the celebratory moments.

Photo by Jill Carnell Danseco, UWT

[More:]

And here are stories from UWT of several more of their new grads:

Gary Belvin, Federal Way, a 20-year-old transfer student who entered UW Tacoma in the Running Start program, is one of the youngest students graduating. An honors student at Highline Community College, Belvin received
a NASA space grant to attend UW Tacoma, where he earned his baccalaureate degree in computer engineering and systems with a 3.93 grade point average.

At Commencement he will receive the Chancellor’s Medal, given each year to
the university’s most accomplished student. His next stop is a master’s degree in security informatics at The Johns Hopkins University, with a full scholarship from the National Security Agency.

Amy Igloi-Matsuno, Port Orchard, owns and manages Amy’s on the Bay, a popular restaurant in Port Orchard, with her husband Grant Matsuno, who is the chef. In 2007, she was named one of Kitsap’s “40 Under 40” by the Kitsap Peninsula Business Journal. She recently won an American Dream Award from
the National Restaurant Association, one of only three recipients in the country. She’s on the board of directors of the Association of Washington Business and this spring lobbied the Legislature on unemployment issues.

She’s planning a second restaurant. She’s running for the Port Orchard City
Council. And she’s graduating from UW Tacoma with a degree in business.

Shristi Prakash, Seatac, an environmental science grad, is conducting research into the presence of a synthetic chemical called perfluorinated carboxylic acids (PFCAs) in surface water samples collected from various
locations in the Puget Sound. She plans to submit her findings to a peer-reviewed scientific journal for publishing.