Commencement is the high point of what Jill Hutchison works toward each year—and not because she’s graduating. She has spent the semesters leading up to this day making sure master’s candidates have what they need to graduate.

As graduate coordinator for College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Hutchison conducts degree audits to make sure students comply with department requirements and have their forms completed for commencement. Although much of her work with graduate students involves paperwork, she also provides advice about their theses or project committees and lends a helping hand as they venture through the complicated bureaucracy of registration and records. “I enjoy talking with both students and faculty advisors to come up with solutions to problems and make everything work smoothly,” she says.

Hutchison’s passion to act as an intermediary between faculty, advisors and students stems in part from her experience as a student in the master of humanities program (MH 1990) and more than 20 years as a University of Colorado Denver employee.

Nothing, however, beats commencement. “It’s a wonderful sight—those hard-working grads dressed up in their caps and gowns, so excited about being finished with graduate school and ready to tackle their future challenges.”

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