UNF celebrates Summer 2025 Commencement
Today, the University of North Florida celebrates 1,016 students earning their degrees during the Summer 2025 commencement ceremonies at the UNF Arena.
Graduates range in age from 20 to 62, they come from 14 countries, 34% are the first generation in their families to attend college, many have 4.0 GPA’s and 80 are connected to the military. Degrees will be awarded from 109 different combinations of majors in total.
Graduates from the following colleges will move directly into careers with notable companies including:
- Brooks College of Health: Brooks Rehabilitation, Adventhealth, Mayo Clinic, UF Health, Florida Department of Health and CVS Pharmacy
- College of Arts & Sciences: CSI Companies, Jacksonville Jaguars, Department of Defense and Ally Financial
- Coggin College of Business: Fidelity Investments, Florida Blue, Miller Electric Company and Bank of America
- College of Education & Human Services: Federal Education Program, Sporting Club Jacksonville, Clay County, Duval County, Nassau County and St. Johns County Schools
- College of Computing, Engineering & Construction: The Haskell Company, Hal Jones Contractor and Auld & White Constructors
Each semester, the UNF Alumni Association presents the Senior Service Award to one graduating senior who demonstrated exceptional commitment to volunteerism and service. This summer, that honor goes to Mackenzie Morris.
A first-generation college student, Morris is graduating from UNF’s Brooks College of Health with a Bachelor of Science in Health Science, concentrating in public health. She made service to others her driving motivation, including volunteering more than 175 hours. As a UNF senator, she championed initiatives such as improving Student Government lounges, expanding access to feminine care products at the Lend-A-Wing Pantry and securing 5,000 reusable Nightcap drink covers. She also served as resident assistant, orientation leader and Better Together Interfaith student leader. She is a member of the UNF Presidential Envoys and Sigma Alpha Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority. Her impact extended beyond campus through volunteer service with the Jacksonville Humane Society, Mayo Clinic and Feeding Northeast Florida, and she completed an internship with the Jacksonville Speech and Hearing Center. She aspires to become a radiologic technologist specializing in MRI or X-ray imaging, inspired by the critical role medical imaging plays in patient care.
This summer marks the introduction of the Graduate Service Award, presented by the UNF Alumni Association to recognize graduate-level students for their contributions through volunteerism. The first recipient of this award is Joy Bowerman.
Bowerman is graduating from UNF’s Brooks College of Health with a Master of Science in Clinical Mental Health Counseling, having previously earned her bachelor’s in child psychology with minors in child welfare and studio arts. As an undergraduate, she earned pre-licensure as a child welfare case manager through a partnership between UNF and the Department of Children and Families, supporting foster children who had experienced trauma, and later became certified as a guardian ad litem in Florida’s 14th Judicial Circuit, volunteering nearly 425 hours as a court-appointed child advocate. As president of UNF’s Chi Sigma Iota Counselors Honor Society, Bowerman led efforts to break the stigma surrounding mental health, organizing impactful initiatives including a suicide awareness booth for students, coordinating a community health fair in New Town/Grand Park, supporting a national awareness walk and assisting local high school students with college admissions. She is currently completing a practicum at JASMYN, providing counseling to youth, and a graduate assistantship with the Hicks Honors College, where she helps design first-year programming and execute events that foster community and networking. She has accepted a position at Foundation for Pediatric Mental Health, where she will be specializing in child mental health while pursuing certification, licensure and training in play therapy interventions.
The UNF Class of Summer 2025 will join the Osprey alumni nation’s current 115,814-member total. As of spring 2025, UNF has issued 126,682 bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees since first opening in 1972.