Welcome friends and families of the Class of 2008 for a weekend of ceremonies and the all-university commencement procession down Mount Oread into Memorial Stadium Sunday.

Karen Acosta earned her master's degree in teaching English as a second language in the classroom and in the community, from starting Bilingual Story Time at the library to translating documents into Spanish for non-profits and government agencies.

A KU Endowment Meritorious Scholar, Ryan Rowan will graduate with bachelor's degrees in political science and African and African-American studies. He is also one of 10 graduating seniors honored with Chancellor's Awards.

This weekend, Rachel Huffman will graduate with a bachelor's degree in anthropology. Among many other efforts, she has logged time at the Lawrence Community Shelter, where she assists with housekeeping duties and strives to improve life for the homeless.

During his time at the University of Kansas, Erik Nelson researched why — despite the risks — people talk and text on cell phones while driving cars. His well-publicized study has shed an important light on drivers' hazardous cell phone habits.

Before, she translated Arabic for national security purposes. Now, Jennifer Garrison is earning a bachelor's degree in linguistics and focusing on a career as a speech-language pathologist.

Dighton senior Nick Weiser will graduate at the top of his class with a bachelor's degree in classical piano performance and carry the School of Fine Arts banner at commencement May 18.

Kristin Danielson becomes one of the few women in engineering and one of very few Native American women engineers. She transfered from Haskell Indian Nations University and will work as a consulting engineer with Exxon Mobil's research and engineering division.