MARQUETTE, MI— Charlotte Cialek of South Lyon, Mich., will be the student speaker at Northern Michigan University’s commencement on Saturday, Dec. 14.  She will graduate with a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry.

“I have a lot of good things to say about my time at NMU,” said Cialek, who came to NMU as a Presidential Harden Scholar. “I really just wanted to give one last hurrah to my classmates because we’ve all worked very hard to get here in our own ways and in our own majors or fields. I’ve been impressed with the people I’ve met here. This will give me an opportunity to say some last words of encouragement before we go off and start our new lives.”

While attending NMU, Cialek did conservation genetics research with NMU professor Alec Lindsay and cancer research at the Upper Michigan Brain Tumor Center under a Lundin Honors Research Fellowship with NMU professor Rob Winn. She completed the Student Leader Fellowship Program and all four edges of the Superior Edge. She also was a member of three honor societies, the Honors Student Organization and Chemistry Club, as well as captain of the Dance Association.

Before pursuing an advanced degree in biochemistry, Cialek will travel to South Korea in February. She was selected for the Teach and Learn in Korea (TaLK) program, which offers paid internships to those who teach English in rural elementary schools. NMU was among the first 17 U.S. universities to partner with the TaLK program in 2011.

The commencement soloist will be Lindsay Luft of Northport, N.Y. She is a music and secondary education major with a concentration in instrumental music. Luft will lead the audience in the singing of the national anthem and “Hail Northern.”

The graduation ceremony will take place at 10:30 a.m. in the Superior Dome. It will be broadcast live on WNMU-TV regionally and streamed live in high definition online free of charge through the America One/B2 networks. To see the ceremony, follow the link at www.nmu.edu/commencement.