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senior Jeremiah Maurer of Dansville, Michigan, piled on the credit hours in the spring semester to be able to earn his bachelor's degree in biblical studies.

Saturday marks the final commencement for the 80-year institution in Lincoln, Illinois. LCU officials announced in October the school would be closing, though the seminary will continue to operate at Missouri-based .

Maurer said it has been an intensely emotional semester for his classmates and him.

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"It will probably be the worst grief I've ever felt, but it will also be filled with great joy knowing the relationships that I got to build here," Maurer said.

Here is a look at college commencements around the area:

Lincoln Christian University and Seminary

When: May 4 at 10 a.m.

Where: Hargrove Chapel at Open Arms Christian Fellowship.

Do I need tickets? No, it's open to the public.

More: Mark Scott, professor of online and graduate studies at Ozark Christian College and a graduate of LCU, is the featured speaker.

The student speaker is Ellie Koranek of Carlock. There are 97 graduates of LCU and the seminary.

One the traditions at LCU is the "giving of the towel" to graduate/seminary students at the ceremony. Dating back nearly 40 years, it invokes the Scriptural story of Christ washing the feet of his disciples at the Last Supper.

University of Illinois Springfield

When: The ceremony for graduates in the College of Health, Science and Technology will be held at 7 p.m. on May 10. College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences and College of Public Affairs and Education students will graduate at 10 a.m. on May 11, followed by a ceremony for the College of ÃÛÌÒÇéÈË and Management at 3 p.m. All are at the

Where: The has moved commencement back to the campus where over 1,000 students are expected to participate in three different exercises.

Are tickets required? Yes. Each ceremony will also be webcast live at .

More: Burks Oakley II, professor emeritus in the department of electrical and computer engineering at the , will receive an honorary doctor of humane letters at the 10 a.m. ceremony on May 11.

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Oakley taught at both UIS and UIUC and helped to establish UIS as a national leader in online learning.

Daisy Solorzano of Watseka, who will be graduating with a master’s degree in public administration, has been chosen as the student speaker at all three ceremonies.

Pamela Salela, a library associate professor, will serve as faculty grand marshal.

Blackburn College

When: May 11 at 10:30 a.m.

Where: The Carlinville school's 155th will take place on the Hudson Quad.

Will the event be livestreamed? Yes, at 

More: Serving as keynote speaker will be Al Sturgeon, former vice president for diverse & equitable student life and dean of students at Blackburn.

Professor of biology James Bray Jr. will serve as the faculty/college marshal while Hector Delgado will serve as student marshal.

Illinois College

When: May 12 at 1 p.m.

Where: The Jacksonville school holds its  at King Field House (Bruner Fitness and Recreation Center).More: It is preceded by a baccalaureate service at Rammelkamp Chapel at 10 a.m.

Lincoln Land Community College

When: May 17 at 7:30 p.m.

Where:

Are tickets required? No, it's open to the public.

More: Divina Shā Kluge of Springfield has been selected as commencement speaker. She is earning an associate in applied science degree in integrated media design.

Alexa Maher and Olivia Marchizzaof Auburn are serving as student marshals.

David Western is being recognized with the LLCC Honored Alumni Award. An embedded software engineer for , Western has been developing the flight software for the U.S. Space Force’s early warning missile detection and tracking satellite program for the past three years.

SIU School of Medicine

When: May 18 at 11 a.m.

Where: The 50th commencement will be at the UIS Center for the Performing Arts

More: Dr. John Mellinger, a professor emeritus in SIU Medicine’s department of surgery and vice president of the , is the commencement speaker.

Joey Maiocco, chair of the Class of 2024, will deliver remarks on behalf of the graduates.

Honored faculty include Dr. Careyana Brenham, Dr. Rik Constance and Dr. Jeremy Kulacz. Kulacz will receive the Golden Apple Award for Excellence in Teaching.

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Three distinguished alumni will be recognized: Dr. Sam Gaines (’77), Dr. Alison LaFrence (’88) and Dr. Mohsin Khan (’16).

Student marshals are Andrew Buchheit, Paetyn Cage, John Padaniliam, Molly Smith, Ashley-Ann Walker and Avani Yaganti.

Contact Steven Spearie: 217-622-1788; sspearie@sj-r.com; X, twitter.com/@StevenSpearie.