Reporter Roz Plater Is Speaker at Graduation

Television journalist Roz Plater will be the keynote speaker at the College of Southern Maryland winter commencement Jan. 19. Ms. Plater is an Emmy Award winner and Calvert County native.

Winter commencement at the College of Southern Maryland is set for Jan. 19, 2017, at the La Plata Campus, and Roz Plater, an Emmy Award-winning journalist, will be the keynote speaker. Ms. Plater was most recently a freelance reporter for WJLA ABC 7 in Washington, DC.

Ms. Plater earned her bachelor of general studies degree from American University, followed by a master’s in broadcast journalism from the University of Missouri. During her 22-year career, she has worked as a reporter and anchor with KNTV in San Jose, California, and at CBS 5 in San Francisco. She was a Washington, DC, correspondent for Hearst Broadcasting and then served an eight-year stint with Fox 5 Washington, DC, as a reporter and as web host of “Today’s Voices,” before working with WJLA.

Ms. Plater won an Emmy in 2015 for her story “Winter Storm Special Report” and a Chesapeake AP Broadcast Awards in 2013 for “Outstanding Spot News,” a Health-Science Reporting Fellowship, and Emmy nominations in 2016 for “Fatal Smoke” and 2004 for Investigative Reporting.

Ms. Plater has been a guest speaker at CSM on Communication Day and for the Charles County Diversity Forum. In 2014, CSM named her one of a dozen Southern Maryland “Women of Influence.”

Winter commencement is a day-long activity. The day starts with a nursing recognition ceremony at 1 pm in the Physical Education Center on the La Plata Campus with a reception immediately following on the upper level of the PE Center. The commencement ceremony will begin at 6:30 pm in the PE Center and tickets are required.

Ticketholders are encouraged to arrive at least 30 minutes before the ceremony begins. Doors will open for guests at 5:30 pm. Doors will close when the procession begins, and guests without tickets or arriving after the doors close may view the ceremony from the Fine Arts Center which will carry a live streaming broadcast. A reception immediately following commencement will be in the Center for Business and Industry, Chaney Enterprises Conference Room BI-113.

In the event of inclement weather, a decision will be announced and posted on the college’s website, listed above, if commencement activities will be held Jan. 20. Graduates and guests also may call the inclement weather hotline at 301-369-1999 or 800-650-4023.

The safety of CSM students, guests, and employees is of utmost importance. CSM will conduct bag checks at commencement, and all individuals may be subject to a bag check before entry. CSM public safety officials encourage guests to leave large secondary bags, diaper bags, and backpacks in their vehicles or at home as these will be subject to the bag check process at the door.

For information on commencement, visit the college’s website.

For more about the College of Southern Maryland, visit their Leader member page.