It was a day of celebration on Friday, June 12, when 180 students walked across the stage at Royce Hall to receive their degrees during the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television’s 2015 Commencement ceremony, with more than 1,400 guests in attendance. Dean Teri Schwartz presided over the afternoon ceremony that honored theater producer Sarahbeth Grossman (An American in Paris) with the Distinguished Alumni in Theater Award, and director and producer Donna Deitch (Desert Hearts) with the Distinguished Alumni in Film, Television and Digital Media Award. Lionsgate Television Group Chairman Kevin Beggs was the 2015 Commencement Speaker. Students participating in the ceremony included Department of Theater undergraduate Lailyn Dunkelman, who sang the National Anthem; Department of Theater undergraduate Aliysa Shareef, who sang the alma mater; 13 graduates from the Department of Theater, including Matthew Alpert, Janelle Cohen, Adam Cropper, Kailyn Dunkelman, Fatmia El-Bashir, Caitlin Ferrell, Coby Getzug, Jackson Hinden, Austin MacPhee, Chris Meissner, Katheryne Penny, Aliysa Shareef and Brady Stanley, who performed the song “At the Beginning”; and Valedictorians Zoe Sterling Tracy (Film, Television and Digital Media) and Sarah Yarkin (Theater), who gave student remarks to the assembled crowd.

Photos: Eric Charbonneau