April 23, 2025
Tickets will be required for all guests at both ceremonies on Saturday, May 17
St. Mary’s University will celebrate its 619 new graduates with two Commencement ceremonies on Saturday, May 17, honoring their achievements.
The School of Law Commencement will be held at 9:30 a.m. on May 17, followed by the University Commencement at 2 p.m. Both ceremonies will be in the Alumni Athletics & Convocation Center’s Bill Greehey Arena.
Tickets are required for all guests entering the arena. The ceremony livestream may be viewed online at www.stmarytx.edu/live.
Saturday, May 17, 2 p.m.: University Commencement
On Saturday, May 17, at 2 p.m., the University ceremony will honor the accomplishments of 377 new graduates, including 303 receiving bachelor’s degrees, 69 receiving master’s degrees and five receiving doctoral degrees.
Kristin B. Gawlik (B.B.A. ’96, M.B.A. ’98), chief financial officer of Quantic Electronics LLC and Qnnect LLC, will offer the University’s commencement address. Gawlik is a dynamic leader with 25 years of experience in the government contracting domain, where she has spent the last 14 years in various CFO roles. Qnnect LLC is a private equity portfolio company that aims to seek and solve critical connectivity and interconnect challenges for high-density and high-speed applications in the aerospace and defense, Hi-Reliability, semiconductor, test and measurement, medical and consumer electronics markets. In addition, she is the CFO of Quantic Electronics LLC, a private equity portfolio company that is a trusted electronics partner in the military, aerospace, industrial and commercial markets.
During the University ceremony, St. Mary’s will bestow the degree of Doctor of Science, honoris causa, on Sallie V. Sheppard, Ph.D., who is committed to higher education and helping students learn.
Sheppard’s name is prominent, along with her husband, Leland Blank, Ph.D. (B.S. ’67), on St. Mary’s newest building, the Blank Sheppard Innovation Center. Sheppard was among the first women to graduate from Texas A&M University, earning her undergraduate and graduate degrees in Mathematics before completing her doctorate in Computer Science at the University of Pittsburgh. Her research was in simulation, software engineering and high-level languages. While teaching at Texas A&M, she accepted the Executive Vice President and Provost position in 1995, making her the first woman to serve as a senior administrator at the institution.
Additional information about the University ceremony can be found on the University’s Commencement webpage.
Saturday, May 17, 9:30 a.m.: School of Law Commencement
On Saturday, May 17, at 9:30 a.m., St. Mary’s Law will recognize the academic successes of 242 new May 2025 School of Law graduates, including 14 receiving their Master of Jurisprudence (M.Jur.), 210 receiving their Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D.) and 18 students receiving their Master of Laws (LL.M.).
Robert J. “Bobby” Perez (J.D. ’90), chief legal officer and general counsel for Spurs Sports & Entertainment, will offer the School of Law’s commencement address. Perez joined Spurs Sports & Entertainment in 2013 as its senior vice president general counsel. In July 2019, he was named executive vice president general counsel and corporate relations. In October 2021, he was appointed chief legal officer and general counsel. His duties include corporate governance, legal affairs, business development, personnel relations, soccer operations and government relations. Prior to joining SS&E, Perez was a shareholder at Shelton & Valadez P.C., served as a Bexar County Assistant Criminal District Attorney and was an elected official on the San Antonio City Council. He currently serves on the Valero Alamo Bowl Board.
Additional information for the School of Law ceremony can be found on the School of Law Commencement webpage.