CHICAGO — Emmy-winning WGN reporter Lourdes Duarte will serve as alumni inductor at DePaul University’s commencement ceremonies, which debut online June 12.
Duarte, the co-anchor of WGN News at 4 p.m. and host of WGN’s “Adelante Chicago,” started her journalism career as a reporter for Telemundo Chicago. She then went on to work in news markets throughout the country including Miami, Indianapolis and Detroit. While in Indianapolis, she launched, produced and hosted the public affairs show “Hoy en Dia,” which won an Emmy for its impact on the Latinx community.
Lourdes Duarte, a DePaul University graduate and current WGN reporter, will serve as alumni inductor for the university's commencement ceremony, which debut online June 12. (Photo courtesy of Lourdes Duarte)“After the year we’ve had, this was a real unexpected honor,” said Duarte. “A rite of passage for DePaul’s Class of 2021, but also a symbol of the wonderful things to come.”
Duarte is a DePaul College of Communication graduate and serves on the dean’s advisory council. In 2019, the college’s Center for Journalism Integrity and Excellence awarded her its Distinguished Alumna Award.
Greeting graduates via video, Duarte will welcome an estimated 6,300 new graduates into the fold, on behalf of the 195,500 DePaul alumni living throughout the world.
College of Law
On May 22, the College of Law’s online ceremony will feature Anna Richo as its commencement speaker. Richo is the general counsel, chief compliance officer and corporate secretary at Cargill, a global food corporation with more than 155,000 employees in 70 countries. She is also a member of DePaul’s Board of Trustees and a DePaul College of Law alumna.
The ceremony will also include Karina Ayala-Bermejo, president & CEO of Instituto del Progreso Latino, as the alumni inductor.
DePaul has a tradition of providing a quality education to students from diverse backgrounds, with particular attention to first-generation college students. The online ceremonies will give the DePaul community and graduates' loved ones a chance to recognize and celebrate in a safe manner during the COVID-19 pandemic. For more information about DePaul’s commencement, visit
http://commencement.depaul.edu.
While 2021 marks the second year of online ceremonies, this year DePaul will offer a nine-day in-person Graduation Celebration on the Lincoln Park Campus in May for graduates and a limited number of guests. More information on the outdoor celebration and events is available at
http://bit.ly/grad_celebration. Graduates also will have the chance to make their mark on this year’s commencement ceremonies. During the ceremonies, every graduate will be featured on a digital slide, which they can personalize with a photo and message. Each school or college will have its own dedicated ceremony, featuring messages from the university president, a student speaker, and the dean from each college or school, as well as other inspirational messages from the DePaul community.
For a list of each college’s debut time, visit
http://bit.ly/commencement_2021. Each ceremony will be available to view and share through YouTube and the DePaul commencement website. The videos will be available to watch through May 2022.
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Media contact:
Russell Dorn
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