The big day is finally here for Temple University’s Class of 2009, a diverse and accomplished group who nonetheless share a common bond:  a spirit and determination that sets them apart. Each graduate has his or her own story to tell. Here are just a few.

Jeff Althouse, BA, College of Liberal Arts; Antawan I. Byrd, BA, Tyler School of Art; Diana Denega, BA, College of Education; D. Brad Lanute, BA, College of Liberal Arts; Brendan Mulvihill, BA, College of Liberal Arts
Five Temple students have won prestigious fellowships from the Fulbright U.S. Student Program to study, do research or teach English abroad in 2009-10.

Benjamin Beck-Coon, Jennifer Russell, JD, Beasley School of Law

Beck-Coon and Russell have won strategic fellowships enabling them to address a wide range of urgent community needs.

Danis Botrus, MS, College of Engineering
For the past two summers, Botrus has been part of a research team studying why oil from the Exxon Valdez still plagues the beaches of Alaska’s Prince William Sound.

Timothy Caison, BA, Tyler School of Art
Caison’s defining moment at Temple was the six grueling months he spent recreating the forgotten world of a local African-American family in a series of stunning paintings.

Wayne Cheng, BBA, Fox School of Business
When Cheng and his fraternity brothers prepared a community Thanksgiving meal for 150 people, they used ingenuity to spread the bounty and feed the 300 who actually turned out.

Kendrick Davis, BS, College of Engineering
Commencement student speaker Davis doesn’t see his speech as a pressure but rather a responsibility. “I want to be optimistic for everyone.”

Brittany Diggs, Shannon McDonald, Chris Stover, LeAnne Matlach and Dave Isaac, BA, School of Communications and Theater
From President Obama’s historical election to the Phillies’ World Series win, it has been a big news year for the staff at the award-winning Temple News.

Brad Hayward and Amy Ost, MD, School of Medicine
Driven by a need they saw for more community-centered health care, Hayward and Ost created a center at Temple to help train future doctors to be more in tune with their patients’ needs.

Tara Maxayn Henderson, BS, College of Science and Technology
When Henderson receives her bachelor’s degree in information science and technology May 14, she will be a completely different person from the one who enrolled at the university in 2001.

Krystle Henry, BFA, Boyer College of Music and Dance
As a dancer, Henry has performed on MTV, toured with songstress Ashanti during her Declaration of Independence tour and appeared on the TV show, “So you think you can dance?”

Renee Jones, DPT, College of Health Professions
This physical therapy doctoral graduate is used to the stares—and the challenges—that come with being an amputee.

Bryan Kim, PhD, College of Health Professions
Kim has been studying ways to help older adults build their confidence to prevent them from falling. “My grandmother had a nasty fall and after that, she wasn’t the same.”

Christopher Lee, BA, College of Liberal Arts
With funding from a Diamond Scholar research award, Lee undertook a highly ambitious project to study urban marginality in immigrant neighborhoods in Stockholm and Uppsala, Sweden.

Will Long, DPM, School of Podiatric Medicine
Long loves his new profession because of the immediacy with which he can help patients. “They’re always so happy to see us because we can usually give them some type of relief right away, whether it’s medication or a brace or something else.”

Beko Mantein, PharmD, School of Pharmacy
Mantein is a survivor. How else do you describe a person who spent their childhood through adolescence in a war zone but never gave up hope for a better life?

Nadine Mompremier, BBA, Fox School of Business
Mompremier cites being elected as the first female Temple Student Government president as her greatest achievement – something she will take with her for life.

Sergio Olmos, BS, College of Science and Technology
Olmos was 17 years old, six foot nine inches tall, and had three options: a career, an education, or a long journey to a strange land to pursue both.

Mari Radford, MS, Ambler College
A community and regional planning major, Radford has been an integral member of communities in parts of the world that many Americans know only through newspaper headlines.

Sarai Rosado, BA, College of Liberal Arts
As a criminal justice major at Temple, Rosado’s strong sense of social justice and passion for preventing youth from choosing the wrong path have distinguished her from the crowd.

Andrea Terrero, BA, College of Education
Terrero will be teaching English to adults with special needs in Brazil, an opportunity that came about after she visited the country as part of a federal exchange program.

Phuong-Oanh Tran, DDS, Maurice H. Kornberg School of Dentistry
Growing up in Ho Chi Minh City, Tran and her family received no dental care. The city turns out fewer than 100 dentists a year to serve 10 million citizens and the cost of care is prohibitive.

Jason Williams, BBA, Fox School of Business
Williams first used his entrepreneurial skills in middle school by starting a business focused on organizing parties, basketball competitions and other activities for inner city kids.