According to the April 22, 2005 edition of the DAILY HERALD, “More than 6,000 BYU students from all 50 states, two U.S. territories and 59 countries were granted either bachelor's, master's or doctoral degrees at the annual Brigham Young University spring graduation ceremony.”

Among those graduates was our very own Valerie Woo, daughter of Leonard and Rita Woo. Valerie had been designated as the class valedictorian and was asked to address the audience along side Elder Earl C. Tingey, BYU president Cecil O. Samuelson, and the president of the BYU Alumni Association.

Valerie “told the graduates the most critical thing she learned at BYU was the importance of service. She said she remembers baking cookies with a group of friends to give to tired test-takers at the campus testing center in her freshman year. When they got there, they became one of three groups of students with the same service plan. They fought to convince passers-by that their cookies were a better option than the brownies and muffins being offered by other groups. Her next three years at BYU and her leadership role in the Access service program taught her that the most important services are normally not planned. ‘I've been called unexpectedly the day before finals to spend the afternoon with a child whose mother couldn't get off work ... These small yet profound acts of service are what give meaning and purpose to knowledge.’"

The article continues, “Samuelson, who completes his second year as university president at the end of this month, reminded students that they could not have completed their degrees without the help of many people, including parents, friends and professors. He also reminded students that they are also in debt to the millions of members of the LDS Church, whose tithing money pays for university materials, facilities and employees. ‘The faithful tithe-payers of the entire church provide the bulk of the resources that make our lives so productive and positive,’ he said”.

The article ended with a list of statistics about the graduating class:

Undergraduate stats
Average age: 24.6
Average GPA: 3.18
Percent LDS: 99.5
Percent from Utah: 27.3

The BYU senior class of 2005 reported the following information on its senior exits surveys:
60 percent anticipate full-time employment soon after graduation
2/3 plan to work in major field
*49.9 percent are married
70 percent reported they are graduating with no consumer debt
10 percent owe less than $500 in consumer debt
9 out of 10 said they would choose BYU again if they were starting all over
*Based on past surveys, 80 percent will be married within three years, President Cecil O. Samuelson said.