Graduates

Newly minted Johns Hopkins University graduates were proudly proclaiming themselves "pigs" yesterday after an unusual but apparently effective commencement speech by Baltimore Ravens head coach Brian Billick. The football coach repeatedly invoked a homespun bacon-and-egg metaphor to win over a student body that had questioned the appropriateness of having a sports figure honored at an elite college known mostly for its academic rigor and ultra-nerd personality. "In a bacon-and-egg breakfast, the chicken is involved, but the pig is committed," Billick said from the lectern at Hopkins' lacrosse field.

In the Great Hall of St. John's College, the graduates-to-be, some in patent leather heels and pearls, others in flip-flops and sunglasses, waited in a rigid alphabetical line with name cards on the floor dictating where to stand. Faculty members prodded students with reminders of how to walk, which way to turn and the precise route to take across the lawn to their seats. The tightly choreographed procession appeared to be as uncomfortable for this group as their hot, itchy polyester robes.

Although women have made significant gains in education and income during the past three decades, the pay gap between college-educated men and women continues to widen in the years after graduation, experts say. A new report to be released today by the American Association of University Women sheds light on what is holding back many female graduates and what they can do to catch up. The gender gap will remain until more women pursue careers in science...

Fortune is smiling on John Argentiero, and he can hardly believe it.The double major in economics and decision-and-information sciences is graduating from the University of Maryland, College Park in a week and he has landed a job as a senior technical associate with AT&T Corp. in Middletown, N.J.One of the perks is that he'll be near his fiancee. Another is the company's health, dental and vision plan. The 401(k) is nice. But his salary blew him away. The 23-year-old will start at $53,800 a year.

High school graduates in Maryland and the rest of the country performed about as well on the SAT exams in 1999 as graduates in the previous two years, but their scores continue to lag far behind the graduates of 30 years ago.Maryland's Class of 1999 also ranked fifth out of the 13 states in which at least 65 percent of high school seniors take the SAT, according to data released yesterday by the College Board.The SAT test is typically taken by college-bound students and is used in the college admissions process as an indicator of how well students will do in their first year of college.

WITH JUST two paid staff members and a budget filled mostly with voluntary donations, the Rev. Skip Long and his colleagues in Jobs Partnership have done an impressive job in Raleigh, N.C., over the past 27 months.Reaching from the inner city to the suburbs, they have organized about 100 churches to provide one-on-one mentors to guide welfare recipients, recovering addicts and others in need through a 12-week training course that uses biblical lessons to teach workplace skills. Then, with a network of participating businesses, they have found jobs for 300 of the program's graduates -- with 95 percent still working for the first company that hired them.

The cheering at the Baltimore Arena reached levels yesterday that probably haven't been heard since the place was called the Civic Center and Earl Monroe was playing for the Bullets.Though this was allegedly a more sedate occasion than a professional basketball game -- the commencement of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County -- the friends and families of the 900 graduates apparently didn't get the word.In fact, they got some encouragement to express their enthusiasm."Unlike some, we are not going to ask you to hold your applause," UMBC president Freeman A. Hrabowski III told the assembled gathering when it came time to hand out the diplomas.

With thundering applause, the graduates of Loyola College's Class of 1999 welcomed Andrea Mitchell, NBC News' chief foreign affairs correspondent, to the Baltimore Arena, where she delivered the keynote address at their commencement ceremony yesterday morning."

When Sen. John McCain graduated from the Naval Academy four decades ago, President Dwight D. Eisenhower addressed his commencement. Graduates of the Johns Hopkins University heard a would-be president yesterday as McCain, a candidate for the Republican nomination, used the occasion to outline a domestic political agenda.The Republican from Arizona admitted after his talk that he remembers nothing of what Eisenhower said, but was impressed by his presence in the way he finds few are impressed by politicians these days.

LANDOVER -- Kazoos and noisemakers squeaked. Congratulatory banners flew. And a steady chorus of whoops and cheers echoed down on the nearly 600 Bowie State University graduates waiting yesterday to receive their diplomas at the US Airways Arena.Keynote speaker Alexis M. Herman, U.S. Secretary of Labor, assured the graduates that they had much to celebrate."I will tell you today that you are literally graduating in the healthiest economy in a generation," said Herman, a 1969 graduate of Xavier University in New Orleans.

The Baltimore school system has asked Teach for America, which sends thousands of recent college graduates into public schools around the nation, to nearly double the number of teachers it puts in city classrooms in the next two years if enough private money can be raised. The ambitious plan would supply about 150 first-year teachers to classrooms from pre-kindergarten through high school next fall and in 2010, up from 90 this school year. Because Teach for America participants commit for two years, the number would rise from about 170 this year to 300 by 2010.

Gov. Martin O'Malley asked nearly 1,800 of University of Maryland, Baltimore's professional school graduates, "Is this world going to change us, or are we going to change the world?" O'Malley, a Maryland law school graduate who wore its purple academic colors Friday afternoon, spoke of his joy when his wife, Katie, graduated from the same school. He said that at the time, they had a 1-year-old at home and one on the way. "The most important line of the day is, 'Congratulations. You did it,' " he said, adding, "The hard work you have done to invest in your skills and talents puts our state in a better place in a global economy."

The Graduates, a locally produced comedy about four guys just sprung from high school celebrating their newfound freedom in Ocean City, begins a six-day run at Arbutus' R/C Hollywood Cinema 4 today. "The movie is my love letter to Ocean City and growing up in Maryland, and to my friends from that time in my life," says director Ryan Gielen, who has been promoting his movie for much of the past year and taking it on the festival circuit. "I made The Graduates as a response to the wave of insincere and lazy straight-to-DVD coming-of-age comedies that people have grown used to over the last 10 years."

When Leslie Faison started a master's program in criminal justice, it seemed like a good idea to quit work and attend school full time. She wanted to spend more time with her young daughter and, with the economy doing well, finding another job did not sound very difficult. Yesterday, looking radiant in her cap and gown at a University of Baltimore graduation ceremony, Faison said that she wished that she had hung on to her job and studied part time. She's having a hard time finding a job in the grim economic climate - many of the agencies to which she has applied are under a hiring freeze, and the others are flooded with applicants.

HSA test requirement upholds diploma's value Kudos to state schools Superintendent Nancy S. Grasmick, the Maryland State Board of Education and Baltimore schools CEO Andres Alonso for standing firm on requiring students to pass the High School Assessment tests to graduate from Maryland high schools ("Md. firm on tests," Oct. 29). Tenth-grade-level proficiency is the standard for these tests, so every student who graduates from high school should be required to pass them. If you cannot read at the 10th-grade level upon graduation, you will not be able to compete in the job market.

The Howard County Office on Aging will present its 10th anniversary 50+ Expo from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Oct. 17 at Wilde Lake High School, 5460 Trumpeter Road. The event for Howard County seniors will include 140 vendors and exhibitors, a health fair with screenings and flu shots for those who want them, an alternative care fair, educational seminars and free all-day entertainment. The Capitol Steps, a satirical political review, will perform; Milkshake will provide family-friendly music. www.howardcountymd.

A Howard County construction project to create additional sidewalk along southbound Snowden River Parkway is to begin this week. On July 7, a portion of sidewalk, measuring about 500 feet in length, will be installed to connect two existing sidewalks, one fronting the park and ride lot and the other adjacent to Dobbin Road. The project is expected to be completed by mid-July, weather permitting. The right lane of southbound Snowden River Parkway, south of Dobbin Road, will be closed to traffic during construction hours, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays.

While Maryland's Education Department is quick to tout the state's latest educational achievements, we're not so likely to hear about our failings. Here is a little secret: Maryland's math achievement is flagging. Maryland is one of the richest states - it has the highest median household income, according to a 2006 Census Bureau report. How come we're not at the top of the pack in math? For the second consecutive year, Maryland's average math SAT score dropped significantly in 2007; it now stands 13 points below the national average.

The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff told graduating seniors at the Naval Academy yesterday that they must have the courage to stand up for what is right, even if that means questioning their superiors. "Don't be afraid to question your seniors," Adm. Michael Mullen told 1,037 graduating midshipmen during a ceremony at Navy-Marine Corps Stadium in Annapolis. "Pose tough questions, especially when you don't think things are going well." While Mullen made few references to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, he told the seniors, "We live in a dangerous time in a very dangerous world."

With interruptions for work and family, it took April Waskey 30 years to earn an associate's degree from Howard Community College. Waskey, 49, of Ellicott City said she continued to pursue her degree because she wanted to take her career in a new direction, but also as an example to her 13-year-old son and 9-year-old daughter. "I wanted them to know Mom's doing it, they're going to have to do it, too," she said. A shared commitment to higher education drove 701 graduates to complete their course work at Howard Community College this year.