Rachel Sandman of La Cañada graduated from Rice University on May 12.

Sandman received a Bachelor of Music degree. Khan Academy founder Salman Khan delivered the commencement address. Rice University President David Leebron congratulated the graduates with a handshake as they walked across the stage.

This year, Rice awarded 1,665 degrees, including 881 undergraduate and undergraduate professional degrees and 784 graduate degrees (masters’ and Ph.D.s).

The Class of 2012 is the 99th graduating class in Rice’s history.

Located in Houston, Rice University is consistently ranked one of America’s best teaching and research universities. Rice will celebrate its centennial year in 2012.

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Amanda Gartside of La Cañada Flintridge graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Bowdoin College in Maine, majoring in mathematics and minoring in government and legal studies.

The College’s 207th commencement exercises were held Saturday, May 26 when Bachelor of Arts degrees were awarded to 440 students from 40 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and 15 foreign countries.

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Hayley Falk from La Cañada graduated from Whitman College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from Whitman College. The 2012 commencement ceremony took place on Sunday, May 20.

A total of 420 degrees were conferred at the ceremony in front of an estimated crowd of 4,000 students, family members, faculty, staff and guests. The commencement speaker was Eric Schlosser, journalist and best-selling author of “Fast Food Nation.”

The event, held on the scenic South Lawn of the Memorial Building, crowned a celebratory weekend of activities, including the 50-year reunion of the Class of 1962 and the college’s traditional baccalaureate, held Saturday afternoon in Cordiner Hall.

Whitman College, in Walla Walla, Wash., is nationally renowned for offering a rigorous, well-rounded liberal arts undergraduate education.

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The Allen Lund Company has appointed Doug G. Clark as vice president of Business Development effective on May 29. Clark will be tasked with opening new offices for the company and reviewing potential acquisitions.

With over 32 years of transportation experience, Clark has spoken at numerous trade functions and been published in many trade magazines and periodicals. Previously, Clark was the executive vice president at Golman-Hayden, a produce brokerage firm, and president at Cargo-Master, which was recognized as one of the top 25 transportation brokerage companies in North Texas. He supervised the operations of 23 transportation brokerage offices nationwide and was responsible for managing revenues in excess of $160 million. In 2005, Greatwide Logistics acquired Cargo-Master where Clark served as president of Greatwide’s Truckload Brokerage Division until 2010.

Clark is located in Dallas, Tex. and will continue to work there as he begins this new employment with the Allen Lund Company.