Commencement 2007

Guest Speaker: J.A. Jance

Best-selling Seattle mystery author J.A. Jance is the author of more than 30 novels and the creator of the mystery series starring Seattle detective J.P. Beaumont, whom The Seattle Times called "a distinguished elder of Northwest crime fiction." Her work, which also includes the Joanna Brady mystery series, has made frequent appearances on The New York Times Best-Seller List.

Jance’s dreams of writing were almost thwarted in college, when a creative writing professor who believed women "ought to be teachers or nurses" refused to allow her to take his class. In 1982, Jance, then a single mother of two with no child support, started writing. Her first three books were written between the hours of 4 and 7 a.m., before she had to wake her children for school.

Jance is an avid crusader for many causes, including the American Cancer Society, the YWCA and the Girl Scouts. She lives in Seattle part-time.

Chancellor's Medal Recipient: Halley Hudson

Halley Hudson began serving her community as a child. As a Girl Scout, Hudson distributed fleece hats to a Pierce County men’s homeless shelter and volunteered more than 1,000 hours for Pierce County Explorer Search and Rescue. She later spent a summer leading a youth program for homeless children at the Tacoma Rescue Mission. The experience opened her eyes to the barriers faced by single parents and low-income families and led her to seek a career in social work.

She graduates today with a bachelor of arts in social welfare and hopes to earn a master's degree in social work or family therapy. While at UW Tacoma, Hudson lobbied the legislature for affordable housing, better care for foster children and health-care improvements, and worked to encourage other students to support these issues. She also has applied her advocacy skills in her hometown of Sumner, fighting to prevent the construction of a chemical plant.

During her first year at UW Tacoma, Hudson received the news that she would give birth to a child. Although she had the responsibilities of caring for a newborn, she managed to excel in her classes and is graduating with honors.

Student Speaker: Jewelya Ianniciello

Jewelya Ianniciello is graduating with a master of social work degree. Ianniciello has dedicated her life to promoting awareness of cultural diversity and serving multicultural youths and families.

Ianniciello is the first woman in her family to earn a master's degree. She attended Seattle Central Community College and earned a bachelor of arts in cultural diversity at the Evergreen State College Tacoma campus. She works with chemically dependent patients and their families in the justice system. She plans to travel internationally and study both Western and Eastern philosophies, eventually using that experience to provide social work assistance to multicultural families.

A third-generation Italian-American from a large family of cooks, Ianniciello says family structure is a key component of educational success. She has maintained strong ties to her relatives and continues to enjoy cooking and expressing love through food in the Italian tradition. She believes cultural heritage should be honored because it is the social fabric that intertwines society—"the very thing that makes us unique and alike within the same breath."