The Year Up Puget Sound Graduation Ceremony will be a virtual event streamed through Facebook Premiere on the Puget Sound Facebook page below.
- The event will start promptly at 6:00 PM PT. We encourage you to open the Puget Sound Facebook page 5-10 minutes early. The video will appear on our main Facebook page and you will not need a direct access link.
- If you follow the Puget Sound Facebook page, you should receive a notification that we are premiering the event soon.
- You are not required to have a Facebook account to watch the premiere, though you do need to be signed into an account to set a reminder and post comments or reactions.
Thank You to our College Partners
Graduation Program
Graduate Welcome
Otis Nathanael Jones II, Year Up Intern at Tableau Software
Board Chair Welcome
John Stanton, Chairman of the Year Up Puget Sound Board
Graduate Keynote Address
Maia Uili, Year Up Intern at Microsoft Corporation
Presentation of Awards
Nate Longoria, Year Up Intern at Providence Health & Services
Yosuof Ibrahim, Year Up Intern at Expedia Group
Presentation of Certificates
Kaitlin Thomas, Program Manager, Year Up Puget Sound
Laura Blamey, Program Manager, Year Up Puget Sound
Michael Baldwin, Program Manager, Year Up Puget Sound
Congratulatory Remarks
Charles Dowdy, Associate Director of Program, Year Up Puget Sound
Alumni Oath
Salome Molia, Year Up Graduate 2020, Goodman Real Estate
Closing Remarks
Valerie Smith, Year Up Intern at Microsoft Corporation
Tatiana Heck, Site Director, Year Up Puget Sound
Michaela Phillips, Site Director, Year Up Puget Sound
Graduate Speakers
Otis Nathanael Jones II
Year Up Intern at
Tableau Software
Maia Uili
Year Up Intern at
Microsoft Corporation
Nate Longoria
Year Up Intern at
Providence Health & Services
Yosuof Ibrahim
Year Up Intern at
Expedia Group
Valerie Smith Year Up Intern at Microsoft Corporation
Letter from Site Directors
The Year Up Puget Sound team is so proud to have witnessed the journey of each of our graduates here today.
The 107 talented professionals that will be recognized went through so much to make it to this milestone in their lives. As COVID-19 hit the United States, this cohort had to quickly shift and adjust their ideas of what the Year Up program would look like for them. It’s important to recognize that they are the first class of Year Up Puget Sound graduates who began their professional development journeys entirely online and thus have been pivotal in supporting the Puget Sound team as we learned together how best to run a totally virtual program. We are grateful to them for their flexibility and grit through the process.
As they started their internships, it has been remarkable to watch them work through the challenges and celebrate the many wins that go with being an intern; not to mention an intern during a time of many unknowns. The Year Up Puget Sound staff is so proud of how this class rose to the challenge and want to say thank you again for committing to your development and believing that nothing can get in the way of your dreams. The professionals you’ll be seeing graduate today persevered through the changing environments and impacts of not only a global pandemic, but also Shelter-In-Place orders, state-mandated curfews, civil unrest, and economic turmoil. At this time, more than ever, it is critical that we lift up these incredible graduates so that they can be the change that we need in this world. We celebrate you all today and wish you the best of luck on the next step in your long and promising careers.
Congrats!
Year Up Puget Sound
Tatiana Heck
Site Director, Year Up Puget Sound
Michaela Phillips
Site Director, Year Up Puget Sound
Alumni Oath
I PLEDGE that as a member of the Year Up National Alumni Association, I will continue to uphold and promote Year Up’s mission and core values. I will strive for excellence and realize my potential. I will use my time and talents to contribute to the success of Year Up, its students, and its alumni. I will take action in the movement to close the Opportunity Divide. I take this oath freely, as a promise to lift while I climb, and to be a lifelong ambassador of Year Up.
Thank You to our National Sponsors
Thank you to our National Community Partners
Copyright © 2021 Year Up, Inc.