Tammy Rivera-Tubbs

THOUSAND OAKS, CA - California Lutheran University will hold its Graduate Commencement Ceremony in the new William Rolland Stadium at 4 p.m. Friday, May 11.

As of April 26, 495 students are eligible to receive master’s or doctoral degrees at the ceremony.

Tammy Rivera-Tubbs, a Moorpark resident receiving a doctorate in educational leadership, will speak on behalf of her fellow doctoral students. Rivera-Tubbs, whose parents both dropped out of high school when her mother got pregnant, became pregnant herself at 16. With her parents’ help and support, she graduated from high school. After serving in the United States Air Force for 10 years, she became a special education teacher and currently teaches in the Oxnard School District. She earned master’s degrees in special education and educational administration and has worked as a middle school teacher, dean of at-risk students and summer school assistantprincipal. The happily married mother of six children aged 15 to 29 will watch one daughter graduate from CLU on May 12 and another graduate from StanfordUniversity in June.

Antonia Caro, a single mother of a 6-year-old son, will speak on behalf of the students receiving master’s degrees. The Oxnard resident graduated from Hueneme High School and earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology from California State University, Northridge. Six years later, she was working as a bartender when she decided to go back to school to earn a Master of Science in counseling psychology.

James O’Toole, the first Daniels Distinguished Professor of Business Ethics at the University of Denver, will address the graduates and receive an honorary doctor of laws degree. In 2007, the editors of Ethisphere named O’Toole one of the most influential people in business ethics and Leadership Excellence magazine rated him among the top 100 thought leaders on leadership. He has written 18 books including “Transparency: How Leaders Create a Culture of Candor,” “The New American Workplace” and his latest, “Good Business.” A Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University, O'Toole has served as a special assistant to the Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare, editor of The American Oxonian magazine, and executive vice president of the Aspen Institute.