ALAMOSA — The Adams State University fall graduation ceremony will begin at 10 a.m. Saturday in Plachy Hall.

The university will award 253 degrees, including 128 associates and 125 bachelor’s degrees.

Lillian Gómez, Executive Director of the Adams State Office of Title V Initiatives, will deliver the commencement address titled, “Respect for the truth must be a vital Part of all college education.”

Gómez, a native of the San Luis Valley, is noted for her passion around inclusion of underserved communities to ensure they have access to quality education and to higher education.

As executive director of Title V Initiatives, Gómez takes a lead role in Adams State’s

designation as a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI). Adams State was Colorado’s first higher education institution to be federally designated as an HSI, which has led to more than $26 million in Title V grants to strengthen the university’s status as a Hispanic Serving Institution.

For the first time in recent memory, the student message will be delivered by two students, Sheniqua A. Griffith and Janet Najar Madera. The two students credit Adams State for their academic and personal growth. They were both involved in many student organizations over the course of their college career and look forward to serving in professions to help diverse populations.

Gómez has served as executive director of Title V Initiatives since June 2003. Her work experience includes serving as the Colorado Commission on Higher Education Grant Director for Improving Teacher Quality; Director of Bilingual Education and Federal Programs for the Alamosa School District; and District Director of Bilingual Multicultural Education.

She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education from Adams State in 1979, and earned a master’s degree from Adams State in 2000.