The $4 Billion Class

Commencements are among the most special times on the UT Tyler campus. In Fall, Spring, and Summer family and friends gather to watch students become graduates in one swift walk across the Cowan Center stage. Digital cameras flash, air horns trumpet, and cheers rise for hundreds of students earning both bachelors and masters degrees from the University’s five colleges.

All of East Texas, not just parents and students, should celebrate each UT Tyler graduating class, according to Ray Perryman’s report on the importance of the University. Noting that most UT Tyler students come from East Texas and choose to stay in East Texas after graduation, the powerful economic influence of each graduating class is among the most important contributions of the University.

Perryman found that 2004 graduates will add more than $1.08 billion in income to the region’s economy over their lifetimes. This new income results in $4.28 billion in aggregate local spending that benefits nearly every East Texan from home builders to hair stylists.

Tony Naseiro of Longview and Elisa Martinez of Tyler are among the 2004 UT Tyler graduates who plan to remain in the region.

CB&I Howe-Baker in Tyler hired Naseiro after he completed his bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering. “This is a good company – the kind I’d be willing to stay with for the rest of my career if possible,’’ said Naseiro, a rotating equipment engineer for the company, which engineers, procures and constructs process systems in the refining, petrochemical and natural gas industries.