Keynote, student speakers picked for commencement

An alumnus working in Army aviation technology and a heart surgeon will serve as the keynote speakers for the University of North Georgia's (UNG) fall commencement ceremonies on Dec. 16 in the Convocation Center at UNG's Dahlonega Campus. In a new feature this semester, UNG will also have a student speaker in each ceremony.

Carvil Chalk, '94, serves as the deputy director for aviation technology at the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Aviation & Missile Center in the Technology Development Directorate in Huntsville, Alabama. He will address graduates of the College of Arts & Letters, College of Science & Mathematics, Lewis F. Rogers Institute for Environmental and Spatial Analysis, and University College in the 10 a.m. ceremony.

Chalk leads his organization of more than 200 Army civilians, military officers and enlisted personnel to make Future Vertical Lift modernization a reality in partnership with stakeholders across the Army, the Department of Defense, industry, and academia.

He graduated from UNG with a Bachelor of Science in physics. Chalk completed his graduate studies at the University of Tennessee Space Institute in Tullahoma, Tennessee, earning Master of Science degrees in engineering science and flight research.

Dr. T. Sloane Guy is the director of minimally invasive and robotic cardiac surgery at the Georgia Heart Institute at Northeast Georgia Health System. He will speak to graduates of the College of Education, College of Health Sciences and Professions, and Mike Cottrell College of Business in the 3 p.m. ceremony.

Guy has a broad range of surgical capabilities but is nationally renowned as a leader in robotic mitral valve repair and other robotic cardiac surgical procedures.

He attended Wake Forest University on an Army ROTC scholarship. He played on the varsity football team and graduated magna cum laude as a Distinguished Military Graduate. Guy earned an MBA in healthcare administration from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and his MD from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.

During active duty, Guy served three tours as a trauma surgeon, two in Afghanistan as chief of clinical services with the 249th General Hospital detachment at Forward Operating Base Salerno and, most recently, as chief of surgery for the 47th Combat Support Hospital in Mosul, northern Iraq. He completed his military service in 2010 as a decorated lieutenant colonel.

Carlee Blankenship, who is earning a Bachelor of Science in political science with a pre-law concentration this fall, will address her fellow graduates in the 10 a.m. ceremony.

Blankenship served as the director of communications for UNG's Student Government Association (SGA) and as Model United Nations club vice president. She also served as a leader in Delta Zeta, her sorority. As a representative of Australia at the Model UN regional conference in Charlotte this past spring, Blankenship was awarded the Best Delegate award within her committee. She has also interned with a small private counsel law firm and at the White County District Attorney's office. She did this all while working her way through leadership to become a manager at Chick-fil-A in Dawsonville.

Louisa Schlesiger, who is earning a Bachelor of Business Administration in management this fall, will speak to her fellow graduates in the 3 p.m. ceremony.

A native of Germany, Schlesiger transferred to UNG for the spring 2022 semester after earning her associate degree at Georgia State University. She served in both president and vice president roles with the student organization ENACTUS and as SGA senator for the Mike Cottrell College of Business. She completed an internship in product operations at Cox Automotive in Atlanta and has been an intern on the Enterprise Innovation team at General Motors since May of this year. Schlesiger has accepted a full-time position at GM starting in January.

Graduates are encouraged to arrive one hour before their ceremony dressed in their gown and cap with its tassel.

To attend, all guests 2 years old and older must have a ticket. Each graduate was able to electronically claim up to six tickets, which can be printed or shown electronically, with the option to be added to the waitlist for two additional tickets.

For those unable to attend the in-person event, the ceremonies will be streamed live on UNG's Facebook page. UNG encourages everyone to celebrate their graduates with the hashtag #UNG23grad on social media.

Twenty-seven members of the Corps of Cadets entering the U.S. Army, Army National Guard, and Army Reserve will be commissioned collectively at 5 p.m. Dec. 15 in the Convocation Center, with four graduating National Service Leadership Track cadets also being honored at the ceremony. President Michael Shannon, a retired Army lieutenant colonel, will serve as the keynote speaker and will administer the oath.  

Bachelor of Science in Nursing graduates will have a pinning ceremony marking their entrance into the field at 6:30 p.m. Dec. 16 at the Convocation Center.