The University of Guam will celebrate the achievements of 198 graduates during its Fanuchånan (Fall) 2025 Commencement Ceremony at 2 p.m. Sunday. The ceremony will take place at the UOG Calvo Field House.
This year’s graduating class includes 134 students earning bachelor’s degrees and 64 students completing master’s degrees, marking an important milestone for UOG and the island community.
Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist and visual storyteller Manny Crisostomo will deliver the commencement address. Crisostomo, a son of Guam, is widely recognized for his decades-long career documenting Pacific Islander cultures and the lived experiences of CHamorus on Guam and in the diaspora. This will be his second time serving as a UOG commencement speaker, having previously addressed the graduating class of 1989, the same year he received the Pulitzer Prize for his photo essay “A Class Act, The Life and Times of Southwestern High School.”
Crisostomo’s work has earned national and international recognition, including the Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award for his photo documentary “The Leftover People,” which focused on Hmong refugees. His published works include Legacy of Guam: I Kustumbren Chamoru, Guam From the Heavens, and Journeys to the Heart: Pacific Islanders Celebrate Their Indigenous Cultures. A redesigned second edition of Journeys to the Heart was released in 2024.
International human rights lawyer, author and educator Julian Augon will also be recognized during the ceremony with an honorary Doctor of Laws degree. Augon is the founder of Blue Ocean Law and a leading advocate for climate justice, decolonization and Indigenous rights in the Pacific. He is a Pulitzer Prize finalist, Right Livelihood Award laureate, and author of The Properties of Perpetual Light and No Country for Eight-Spot Butterflies.
UOG President Anita Borja Enriquez said both honorees reflect the university’s commitment to leadership, service, and storytelling rooted in the Pacific experience.
Attendance at the Fanuchånan 2025 Commencement ceremony is by ticket only.
The event will be livestreamed for the public on the University of Guam’s YouTube channel and Facebook page.
