STEVENS POINT – An alum of the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point who directs the U. S. Defense Intelligence Agency will address graduates of his alma mater and their families at the spring commencement ceremonies on May 20.
Lt. Gen. Scott Berrier, a 1984 graduate, will speak to more than 1,100 graduates from the three UW-Stevens Point campuses. Ceremonies will be held at 9:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. in Skyward Fieldhouse, Marshfield Clinic Health System Champions Hall, 2050 Fourth Ave., Stevens Point.
Ceremonies will be held by academic college to award doctoral, master’s, bachelor’s and associate degrees. For a full schedule and information, go to www.uwsp.edu/commencement.
Chancellor Thomas Gibson will lead the ceremonies with the assistance of Provost and Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs La Vonne Cornell-Swanson. Deans of the four academic colleges will preside over presentation of degrees. Bachelor of music candidate Natalie Romanick, Eldridge, Iowa, will sing the national anthem and Alma Mater at the 9:30 a.m. ceremony, and senior choral music education major Ben Franklin, Fond du Lac, will sing at the 2 p.m. ceremony. They will be accompanied by the UW-Stevens Point Symphonic Wind Ensemble, directed by John Lynch, director of bands.
The student speaker for the 9:30 a.m. ceremony is Will Scheder, a bachelor’s degree candidate in environmental science and political science from Somerset. For the 2 p.m. ceremony, the student speaker is Samantha Buerger, a master’s degree candidate in speech-language pathology from Oshkosh. Alumni couple Shannon and Wayne Semmerling, Stevens Point, both 1996 graduates, will lead the alumni pinning ceremonies.
Each ceremony will last roughly 2 1/2 hours and will be livestreamed through the commencement website for those unable to attend. Guests can park in any campus lot for free, except Lot F West, which will be used for handicap access.
Berrier is a career intelligence officer, having served at every level from battalion to combatant command. His Army, Joint Service and Special Operations assignments include service across the United States, the Republic of Korea, Iraq and Afghanistan.
Prior to his role with the Defense Intelligence Agency, he was the principal military intelligence and counterintelligence adviser to the Secretary and Chief of Staff of the Army and the Army’s Intelligence Community representatives. He has earned several medals, including the Distinguished Service Medal and the Bronze Star.
He earned a bachelor’s degree in history from UW-Stevens Point, a master’s degree in management from Central Michigan University and a master’s degree in strategic studies from the U.S. Army War College.
