University of Utah Graduates Class of 2012

(KCPW News) More than 7,600 University of Utah students are now graduates. Newly-appointed University President Dr. David Pershing began the commencement ceremony this morning Friday by introducing the class of 2012.

“Our graduates today come to us from 26 counties in Utah, 49 of the 50 states and 64 different countries, ” Pershing said. “Today we send them back into a world that desperately needs their energy, their enthusiasm and expertise.”

Pershing asked students who are anxious about their future to consider the graduating class of 1942, when the fear of war plagued the nation. He said now, like then, change will come.

University of Utah graduate and President and co-founder of Pixar Animation Studios Ed Catmull also addressed graduates, urging them to embrace creativity and change.

“I have no doubts about everybody having the potential to be creative,” Catmull said. ” We talk about ‘how do you become more creative?’ I don’t think that’s the fundamental problem, it’s the blocks that get in the way that we don’t see coming. It’s the fear of screwing up or of making mistakes.”

More than 5,500 bachelor’s degrees were earned by the University of Utah’s Class of 2012, along with nearly 2,000 master’s degrees and 600 doctorates