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AUSTIN, Texas -- Now that they’ve mastered the ability to excel in the classroom, in the community and in competition, it’s time for the graduating Longhorn student-athletes to step off the UT campus and start new life adventures.

And, those new eras begin this weekend (May 18-19) as the 124th spring commencement is celebrated on the Forty Acres by 7,440 graduating students, their families and friends, and members of the university community.

There are 92 UT student-athletes in the 2006-07 graduating class. This is a highly-talented and diverse group of athletes across all of UT’s athletic teams. They represent 15 different states and six foreign countries (Canada, Croatia, England, Mexico, Poland and Puerto Rico).

Among the 92 Longhorn graduates, they will receive degrees in 32 different majors which are as diverse as advertising, pre-med, studio art, corporate communications, photojournalism, biology, social work, audiology, economics, Russian, radio-TV-film, chemistry and human ecology along with five different areas of engineering (aerospace, civil, biomechanical and petroleum engineering).

"This is an extraordinary time. A time for Texas," noted William Powers Jr., President of The University of Texas at Austin, in a statement he released prior to commencement. "A time for this generation to step forward and become the creative thinkers and leaders of a new era. Because what starts here changes the world."

Among those ready to go out and help make significant changes are members from the Longhorns’ swimming and diving, football, basketball, tennis, soccer and rowing teams. These seniors reminisced about their time at UT and spoke about their future plans as they waited for commencement exercises to begin on Friday.

"This is like a dream to me, to be able to stand here in my cap and gown," noted tennis standout Petra Dizdar, who graduates with a degree in public relations and who will enroll in UT’s prestigious LBJ School of Public Affairs in September. "To have come from Croatia four years ago to study and play tennis here, and to know all that I’ve gained and how much I’ve grown, it almost unreal! I’ve learned so much, particulary from the difficult times. I’ve been blessed to play for the NCAA national championship, to experience some of the best academics, to have wonderful support from coaches and staff members."

Dizdar was attending graduation ceremonies with one of her best friends from her native Croatia -- Anja Margetic -- who made the trip from Split, Croatia to Austin to spend time with Dizdar on her special day.

"My family, unfortunately, cannot come to graduation, but to have Anja here representing my native country with me is awesome!", Dizdar said. "This is her first trip to America, and on Sunday, we are leaving for an amazing 12-day road trip to Montana and Glacier National Park. We’ll be with my teammate and fellow senior Ristine (Olson), who lives in Montana. From Montana, we fly to New York City for a week to visit with some friends! After that, I’ll return to Austin and get ready for my graduate studies this fall."

"It’s very surreal today," said former Longhorn football deep snapper Tully Janszen of Keller, Texas who studied kinesiology. "I really can’t believe it’s here. It’s already been five years. I’m excited to embark on a new chapter in my life. Closing this one is exciting, and I really don’t know how to explain the feeling. It seems like I’m in a dream. It seems like it’s flown by, and I’ve loved every minute of it. It has been very enjoyable, and it’s going to be a fun day."

"Graduating is such an accomplishment and a blessing," said basketball forward Katrina Robinson, a native of Grand Prairie, Texas. "I’m the last born (in my family) so I’m the last of three daughters to graduate. I know my family is very happy and proud of all of us. I majored in sociology, but my plan (once commencement is over) is to teach in the Plano (Texas) school system once I get my certification. It’s not set in stone yet, but that is the plan. I’m excited to get into teaching and work with young kids."

For other graduates, different priorities are on the horizon.

Former Texas soccer goalkeeper Dana Hall, who hails from Kingwood Texas, has a hectic few weeks in store.

"First and foremost, I’m getting married on June 2 so that’s a big deal right now!", smiled Hall, who will be married on her family ranch. "After that, I’m applying to go to grad school at subsidiary schools in Texas to become a physician’s assistant. I made that decision because I wanted to do something to help people. Studying to be a PA will be a huge commitment, but I’m looking forward to the challenge."

All-America swimmer Stephanie Anderson plans some foreign study before returning to Texas to start her career.

"I’m done with school in August, and to finish my degree, I’m going to study abroad in Prague," said Anderson. "Hopefully when I get back, I’ll have a job designing magazines. My degree is in photojournalism which is exactly what I wanted to do coming out of high school."

"There were a lot of messages that my coaches have left with me," noted Anderson. "They’ve placed academics very, very highly. I was always encouraged to go to class, always encouraged to study and do well, and not just pass through. The dedication to learning your sport transfers over into your academic life. These messages have resonated with me throughout my time here and they are what I will carry with me."

Houston, Texas native and diver Nikki Triplett will move to the West Coast to jumpstart her career.

"I’m moving to Los Angeles to get into an agent training program for directors and screenwriters and actors," Triplett, a public relations major, said. "My cousin is an agent, and I’ve heard a lot about her work. I love film and wanted to get into the industry. UT helped prepare me with all of the guidance. [UT Athletics Director of Career Development] Dr. Mike Sanders helped me a lot with my resume and how to present myself. The people here are unbelievable! I feel like the support system between my coaches, fellow teammates, and the academic services office was just amazing, and that they’ve helped me prepare for my next steps."

Like Dizdar, soccer player Priscilla Fite, a biology and allied health major, also plans to get some travel in before taking her MCAT’s this summer.

"On Tuesday, a friend and I are going to Europe, to London, Paris, Spain, and South Africa for a little over a month," noted Fite. "I'm taking the MCAT's in August and then going to Bible school in Anaheim, Calif., for two years. I'll be applying for PA school or medical school after that, depending on how well I do on the MCAT. I didn't want to go straight to medical school, and thought studying in California would be a nice transition."

"I had a great experience here, in terms of soccer and academics," Fite finished. "I definitely don’t have any regrets. I will miss UT and I will miss Austin, but I’m looking forward to the future and there are a lot of great things ahead of me."

Rower Veronika Buonaugurio of the San Antonio area will go in the opposite direction of Triplett and Fite, as her next move takes her to the Washington, D.C. Area.

"I have a huge interest in human rights policies," stated Buonaugurio, an anthropology major, "and I’ve been accepted to American University where I will be in the graduate public policy program. This summer, before my studies, I am looking to gain experience in Washington by working at either the General Accounting Office or the Congressional Budget Office. Eventually, it’s my dream to work for the State Department, specifically as an ambassador to NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization). I believe those dreams are possible after coming to UT and experiencing life here and gaining the confidence and knowledge that I have gained as a student-athlete."

UT head coach Chris Petrucelli, who was with his soccer graduates, expressed his feelings about the soccer seniors. His words, however, would be echoed by each and every Longhorns coach.

"This is such a great group because athletically they were outstanding, and academically they were outstanding," said Petrucelli. "They are a great representation of the term ‘student-athlete.’ They were focused on graduating and getting their degrees, and focused athletically on being the best."

"I think this group has gained a great deal from The University of Texas as well as given The University of Texas some great memories," Petrucelli concluded. "The things that they went through during their careers, the difficulties, the good times and the bad times, are all things that have molded them into mature and quality people who are going to be highly successful."

"Not in my wildest dreams could I have thought that my last four years would have been as wonderful as they’ve been," Dizdar concluded. "UT is such a special place."

2006-2007 UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS GRADUATING STUDENT-ATHLETES
Fall 2006 (December graduation)

Name Sport Major Dariam Acevedo Volleyball Kinesiology  Kelly Baritot Women’s Tennis Corporate Communication  Justin Blalock Football Youth & Community Studies Daniel DiToro Men’s Swimming & Diving Biology  Zach Gallenkamp Baseball Corporate Communication  Amber Hall Softball History  Matt Hofer Football Social Work Tracey Hemmerle Women’s Swimming & Diving Biology  James "Trey" Hardee Men’s Track & Field Kinesiology  Bryan Herrera Baseball Kinesiology Greg Johnson Football Corporate Communication Seth Johnston Baseball  Corporate Communication  Amanda Larence Women’s Swimming & Diving Corporate Communication  Matthew Molnar Men’s Swimming & Diving Aerospace Engineering  Matthew Munoz Men’s Track & Field Economics  Marcus Myers Football Economics Melissa Polka Rowing Music  Chezare' Sievers Softball Communication Studies  Kristin Siminski Women’s Swimming & Diving Early Childhood Education  Ychlindria Spears Women’s Track & Field Audiology Brett Valdez Football Youth & Community Studies Jonathan Von Letscher Men’s Track & Field Radio-Television-Film  Melaine Walker Women’s Tennis Youth & Community Studies  Meredith Yarbrough Rowing Linguistics & Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies

Spring 2007

Name Sport Major Devan Andersen Women’s Golf Health Promotion & Fitness  Jeff Bell Men’s Golf Kinesiology  Amy Bradford Softball Health Promotion & Fitness  Greg Brown Football Kinesiology Veronika Buonaugurio Rowing Anthropology  Amy Burlingham Soccer Psychology & Kinesiology  Ben Campos Football Kinesiology Xang Chareunsab Football Kinesiology Hubert Chodkiewicz Men’s Tennis Economics/Pre-Med  Blake Copple Men’s Swimming & Diving Mechanical Engineering  Petra Dizdar Women’s Tennis Public Relations Jaclyn Faulkner      Women’s Swimming & Diving Social Work  Elaine Ferritto      Women’s Swimming & Diving Radio-Television-Film  Priscilla Fite        Soccer                      Biology/Allied Health Adair Fragoso         Football                    Music  Kelli Garrett         Rowing                      Psychology Dallas Griffin       Football                    Finance, Honors Business Haskell "Tre" Griffin Men’s Track & Field        Advertising (Graduate degree)  Karen Haight         Soccer                      Business Honors  Dana Hall             Soccer                      Kinesiology  Martine Hall          Rowing                      Human Ecology  Clint Haney           Football                    Kinesiology Albert Hardy          Football                    African/Afro-American Studies Caley Hullihen        Rowing                      Biology  Tully Janszen         Football                    Kinesiology  Wade Kelly            Men’s Swimming & Diving  Economics & Government  Amy Knitt             Rowing                      Public Relations Mark McCoy            Football                    Corporate Communication Andrew Middleton      Men’s Track & Field         Government  Daria Mieloszynska    Women’s Basketball          East European & Eurasian Studies Dustin Miksch         Football                    Youth & Community Studies  Matthew Mills         Men’s Golf                  Youth & Community Studies   Brandon Mouton        Men’s Basketball            Youth & Community Studies  Nathan O’Brien        Men’s Swimming & Diving  Government  Cat Osterman          Softball                    Psychology Jason Perez           Football                    Chemistry Bryan Pickryl         Football                   Biomechanical Engineering Poston Pritchett      Men’s Swimming & Diving  History/Pre-Med  Amber Reber           Women’s Track & Field       Psychology  Katrina Robinson      Women’s Basketball          Sociology  Matt Rosenfeld        Men’s Golf                  Management  Lacey Smith           Women’s Track & Field       Biology  Brian Smith           Men’s Swimming & Diving  Journalism  Lige Stewardson       Women’s Track & Field       Kinesiology  Kendra Strohm         Women’s Tennis              Kinesiology  Andrew Terry          Men’s Track & Field         Civil Engineering  Ashley Thompson       Women’s Track & Field       Advertising  Nikki Triplett        Women’s Swimming & Diving  Public Relations 

Summer 2007

Name Sport Major Lawrence Adjah        Men’s Track & Field         Kinesiology (Graduate Program)  Stephanie Anderson    Women’s Swimming & Diving   Photojournalism  Jennifer Andrew       Volleyball                  Sport Management  John Arnold           Men’s Track & Field         Government  Brian Beach           Men’s Track & Field         Kinesiology  Alan Bean             Men’s Track & Field         Sport Management  Jessica Curtis        Volleyball                  History Brock Edwards         Football                    Youth & Community Studies  Brittany Givilancz    Women’s Golf                Corporate Communication  Carly Gloge           Rowing                      Studio Art  Darren Kelly          Men’s Basketball            Youth & Community Studies  Donovan Kilmartin     Men’s Track & Field         Petroleum Engineering  Samyr Laine           Men's Track & Field         Kinesiology (Graduate Program) Matt Melton           Football                    Kinesiology Chance Mock           Football                    Youth & Community Studies Lyle Sendlein         Football                    Youth & Community Studies Kasey Studdard        Football                    Youth & Community Studies Joseph Thorne         Men’s Track & Field         Health Promotion & Fitness  Jacqueline Williams   Softball                    Health Promotion & Fitness  Megan Willis          Softball                    Corporate Communication 

Note: Football's Neale Tweedie, a kinesiology major, had entered the 2006 season with his undergraduate degree.