By The Montana Standard; Link to whole story
Dec. 10, 2021
Montana Technological University will celebrate its fall commencement ceremony at 11 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 11, in the HPER. The ceremony is for fall 2021 graduates only. The university is expected to award 158 degrees and certificates to 155 students.
The Order of the Engineer Ring Ceremony was held Friday in the Library Auditorium and the Nursing Pinning Ceremony will be at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 11, in the Library Auditorium.
Montana Tech alumnus and 5518 Designs owner Jon Wick and 2021 graduate Maria Ralph will be the keynote speakers.
In 2012, Wick started 5518 Designs, a branding, graphics and print design company based in Butte. Through client work and side projects, he developed a unique 5518 style of graphics that emerged out of his love of traveling, adventure and the inspiration gained from time spent exploring.
In 2016, 5518 Designs expanded into a retail location at 27 N. Main Street in Butte, and 2021 saw the expansion of 5518 to a second location in Anaconda.
Wick and his wife Cassie are active in the community and have hosted and sponsored many causes and fundraisers. Advertisement
Wick was awarded the 2013 Butte-Silver Bow Moving Mountains Award and received the Alumni Recognition Award from Montana Tech in 2015. He was honored with the 2016 BLDC Young Professional of the Year award and 2018 Montana Standard 20 under 40 recipient. This past August, the Wicks were awarded the Montana Entrepreneurs of the year from the Montana Ambassador program.
Maria Ralph is a non-traditional student who calls Butte home. She decided to pursue her love of building and construction by attending the carpentry program at Highlands College, where she received her associate’s degree in 2019. She loves her tight-knit Butte community, its history, and architecture. Ralph recently started a small home repair business with all the confidence and skill instilled by her education at Montana Tech.
To view the live stream of the ceremony, visit https://www.mtech.edu/live-stream/.