BYU's August 2008 Commencement Exercises will be held Thursday at 4 p.m. in the Marriott Center.

For graduating students, the commencement exercises mark the end of their time at BYU and the beginning of a new phase of life.

"I feel ready and excited to go out into the real world," said Stephanie Lonas, a graduate in French studies.

It is expected that most graduating seniors are anxious about finishing school and beginning a career, but for some it is not that simple.

"I'm having mixed feelings," Lonas said. "I feel excited that I am done with classes, but now I have that 'what's next' feeling. It is kind of liberating though."

This summer's commencement ceremony will be presided over by Elder Richard G. Scott, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Elder Scott will be receiving an honorary doctorate at the commencement ceremony.

Elder Cecil O. Samuelson, president of BYU and a member of the Quorum of the Seventy, will conduct and representatives from the BYU Board of Trustees and administration will also be present at the ceremony.

The student speaker will be Jessie Leatham Wirkus, an English major graduating with university honors, and Sarah Inouye, a senior graduating magna cum laude in music performance, will present a piano solo, "Allegro de Concierto" by Enrique Granados.

The event will be broadcast live on KBYU-FM (98.1) and KBYU-TV (Channel 11).

The academic processional to the Marriott Center, including Elder Scott and President Samuelson as well as members of the Board of Trustees, administrators, deans, faculty and graduates, will leave the Abraham Smoot Building parking lots on Thursday at 3:20 p.m.

Most campus offices will close on Thursday at 2:30 p.m. to accommodate the services.

Members of the BYU community are reminded that no parking will be available from midnight Wednesday until 4:30 p.m. Thursday in Lot 1A north of the Administration Building and in a small portion of the timed parking Lot 2A north of the Hinckley Center. Vehicles parked in those locations during those hours will be towed.

All faculty members are invited to march in the processional at 3:20 p.m. Faculty should be on either the east or west side of the Smoot Administration Building by 3:10 p.m.

Friday's individual college convocations are as follows:

8 a.m. - Family Home and Social Sciences in the Marriott Center; David O. McKay School of Education in the Smith Fieldhouse; David M. Kennedy Center for International Studies in the Joseph Smith Building Auditorium; Physical and Mathematical Sciences in the Wilkinson Student Center Ballroom; and Fine Arts and Communications in the de Jong Concert Hall.

11 a.m. - Life Sciences in the Marriott Center; Ira A. Fulton College of Engineering and Technology in the Smith Fieldhouse; Nursing in the Joseph Smith Building Auditorium; Family, Home and Social Science (Family Life) in the Wilkinson Student Center Ballroom.

2 p.m. - Marriott School of Management in the Marriott Center and Health and Human Performance in the Smith Fieldhouse.

5 p.m. - Humanities in the Marriott Center.

For additional information concerning graduation, visit graduation.byu.edu.

Copyright Brigham Young University 12 Aug 2008