Roz Plater

La Plata, MD – The College of Southern Maryland (CSM) will recognize candidates for degrees and certificates during its 18th Winter Commencement Jan. 19 at the La Plata Campus. A keynote address will be provided by Roz Plater, an Emmy Award-winning television journalist and Calvert County native who, most recently, worked as a freelance reporter for WJLA ABC 7 in Washington, D.C.

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

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

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.”

CSM’s winter commencement activities Jan. 19 will begin with a Nursing Recognition Ceremony at 1 p.m. in the Physical Education (PE) 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 p.m. 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 p.m. 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 (FA) Center which will carry a live streaming broadcast. A reception immediately following commencement will be in the Center for Business and Industry (BI), Chaney Enterprises Conference Room BI-113.

In the event of inclement weather, a decision will be announced and posted at www.csmd.edu if commencement activities will be held Jan. 20. Graduates and guests may also 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 www.csmd.edu/commencement.