Josh Kuntzman selected as 2017 Grad Div Commencement Student Speaker

Congratulations to Josh Kuntzman, Ph.D. Education, who has been selected to be the 2017 Graduate Division Commencement Student Speaker.

Josh came to UCSB after earning a B.A. in Creative Writing and an M.A. in Rhetoric and Composition from California State University, Long Beach. "I found my way into UCSB's Education department, because other graduate schools didn't know which box to put me in. I have since thrived in my boxless existence here at UCSB," Josh explained.

At the Gevirtz Graduate School of Education, Josh focused on Writing Studies, where he researched the academic interactions between teachers and students in the writing process.

Josh ​said that his desire to speak at commencement was "because the state of our world right now has left a lot of people feeling insecure, fearful, and uncertain." He ​explained this his commencement speech, entitled "Our World," is meant to inspire. "I think that people like myself and my fellow graduates need to be reminded regularly-by ourselves and those around us-that we are fortunate to be positioned as leaders in these times: that the world needs our passion, our knowledge-bases, and our good intentions in moving this world toward positive and sustainable directions​."

After graduation, Josh plans to defend his dissertation during the summer and continue working at the Graduate Division where he is currently the Crossroads ​Program Coordinator. He ​ultimately plans to find work in colleges based on his dissertation research.

His hope is to continue connecting teachers and learners by "coordinating interdisciplinary dialogs, cultivating healthy educational communities, and supporting teachers and students in their mutual work of propagating our species' collective wells of knowledge."

The Graduate Division commencement will take place on Sunday, June 18, from 4-6 p.m. on the Faculty Club Green.