BOONE - The College of Arts and Sciences has announced their 2016 Commencement Speakers for the Spring Commencement ceremony, taking place Saturday, May 14 at 5pm in the Holmes Convocation Center.
The event will open with a welcoming address delivered by Jennifer Flowers (Anthropology). Alexander Eric "Zan" Newkirk (Chemistry) will give the main commencement address during the ceremony. The graduate student address will be delivered by Courtney Lewallen (English).
Jennie Flowers is an Anthropology major with a concentration in Archaeology. She is also a Dance minor having performed in various shows with the Appalachian Dance Department, including the 2015 Fall Appalachian Dance Ensemble, the 2016 Spring Appalachian Dance Ensemble, and the North Carolina Dance Festival. She also choreographs for the Momentum Dance Club. Ms. Flowers traveled to Ecuador in 2014 to participate in an intensive ethnographic field school with the Department of Anthropology, and in 2015 traveled to Cuba with a collection of faculty and students from the Global Studies Program, Dance Department, and College of Music to study Cuban art and culture.
Alexander Eric "Zan" Newkirk is a Chemistry major with a concentration in Forensic Science, and a minor in Criminal Justice. He
grew up in Raleigh, NC, and chose Appalachian State University after falling in love with the campus at his first open house. He has served as a resident assistant, student orientation undergraduate leader, and as a member of the Student Conduct Board. He is an active brother of Alpha Tau Omega, and works as a Teacher Assistant in the biochemistry lab. When he is not busy with classes or work, he enjoys going to concerts, making art, and beatboxing. Mr. Newkirk plans to attend law school after graduating in hopes of becoming a patent attorney.
Courtney Lewallen came to Appalachian State with a passion for writing. After transferring from Catawba Valley Community
College in 2013, guided by her love of literature, she majored in English with a 
concentration in Literary Studies. She was inducted into Tau Sigma National Honor Society for transferstudents and was nominated to participate in Appalachian's Accelerated Master's (4+1) program, enabling her to begin working on her Master's degree throughout her senior year. She graduated with English Honors in 2015 and began work as a Graduate Teaching Faculty Associate that very next fall semester, teaching Rhetoric & Composition at the freshman and sophomore levels. Courtney's fascinations include critical posthumanism and early modern English literature, so you'll often catch her poring over ecocriticisms of Shakespeare in her spare time. After graduation, she plans to pursue her PhD in early modern English literature.
For more information on the 2016 College of Arts and Sciences Spring Commencement Ceremonies, visit the Registrar's Office.