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Simon Fraser University’s spring Convocation (June 2-5) will see more than 3,000 students graduate – here’s a snapshot of just a few who got to their academic finish lines:

• SFU health sciences professor Robert Hogg will be in the applauding crowd at Convocation on the morning of June 3 – not for a graduating offspring, but for his own mom. After more than 30 years of studies in history and other courses Denise Hogg earns a Bachelor of General Studies and her family’s pride.
• MBA graduand Wahiba Chair spent 10 weeks in Doha, Qatar as one of 16 finalists (from over 5,000 applicants) on the Arab docu-reality program, Stars of Science. Finalists in this global contest work in a televised lab with assistance from mentors and experts to develop their business ideas into a marketable product. Hers is called PortaLife, a shopping aid that interprets nutritional information.
  (The show airs in Qatar on May 29. The winner is determined by an audience vote.)
• He has arguably done more than any other student in the university’s history to raise awareness and funds on campus for HIV/AIDS research. Nigerian-born Oghenowede (Ede) Eyawo, who is graduating with a master’s degree in public health, is the co-founder of SFU's AIDS Awareness Network. Eyawo is already working as a research analyst at the B.C. Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS and plans to return to Africa to apply his skills there.
• Computing science student Mark Chua can add pioneer to his curriculum vitae credentials. He’s the first graduate of the SFU-Zhejiang University Dual Degree Program (DDP) in computing science. Students earn two degrees concurrently while studying, living - and learning Mandarin - in Canada and China. Chua is now working as a software developer at Reva Solutions in Vancouver.
• For three Clan football players convocating this June, the payoff for their commitment to the game was a long time coming. Bryan Thiessen, Josh Havey and Thomas Pearce suffered through the longest winning drought in SFU history, a 25-game losing streak entering their 2008 senior season. “[Quitting] came to mind a couple of times,” says Thiessen, who graduates this June with a criminology degree and plans to join the RCMP. But they persevered and were rewarded with one of the best seasons in SFU history.

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