Designer to speak at baccalaureate ceremony
On Tuesday, Tina Knowles Lawson was announced as the speaker for the 2018 baccalaureate ceremony for USC degree candidates and families.
Tina Knowles is the 2018 baccalaureate speaker. (Photo/Courtesy of Tina Knowles)
The ceremony will take place at 5 p.m. on May 10 at Bovard Auditorium, followed by a baccalaureate dinner at 6:30 p.m. on Pardee Way.
According to USC News, more than 15,500 degrees will be awarded in this academic year.
Knowles Lawson is known for being a philanthropist and fashion designer. With the help of her husband Richard Lawson, she started WACO Theater Center in Los Angeles in 2017. The nonprofit offers two mentorship programs for young men and women: Richard’s Warriors and Tina’s Angels, respectively.
Knowles Lawson first rose to prominence as a stylist for the music group Destiny’s Child. Afterward, she gained fame in the fashion industry while focusing on community service. In addition to her recent philanthropy project, Knowles Lawson co-founded the Survivor Foundation for Hurricane Katrina victims and the anti-hunger campaign Miss A Meal.
She is also the mother of Beyoncé Knowles Carter and Solange Knowles.
On top of Knowles Lawson being invited to speak at USC, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Siddhartha Mukherjee will be delivering the main commencement speech on May 11.
Degree candidates, Half Century Trojans, faculty and distinguished guests will also participate in a processional leaving Bovard Auditorium at 8:30 a.m., according to the press release. University President C. L. Max Nikias will lead the main commencement ceremony at 9 a.m. at Alumni Park.