More than 750 UALR  students have applied to graduate at the end of the fall semester, including hundreds planning to attend commencement exercises at 7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 17, at the Jack Stephens Center to receive their degrees.

Last December, UALR awarded degrees to 616 students. To post a “way to go” congratulatory message to a UALR graduate, visit UALR’s site on Facebook.

All graduates have unique stories. Here are a few graduating on Thursday:

• Michael A. Allbritton, a single custodial father of two and a registered nurse from Hot Springs, will graduate with 3.9 grade point average and a B.S. degree in nursing.  The birth of a daughter with Down’s syndrome when Allbritton was 19 led him to a career in nursing, inspired by the dedication and compassion he saw while visiting or volunteering at Arkansas Children’s Hospital.

• Alan Keith Smith is graduating with a double major in English and French. A scholar in the William G. Cooper, Jr., Honors Program in English, he carried a 4.0 grade point while working as the associate director of the Arkansas Art Center’s Children’s Theatre. For his English Honors project he put his theatrical experience to good use by writing an original play about the English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge.

• Brittany Hallmark is a student who has taken advantage of all that UALR offers. A graduate in graphic design, she applied for and received the Entering Freshman Scholarship, made the Chancellor’s List, showcased her work at the 2008 and 2009 annual Art Department competition and the 2008 Art Gallery Finale, was nominated for the Art Department faculty nominated scholarships and won the 2009 Frank J. Willis Scholarship. She landed two graphic design internships with the UALR Office of Communications and the Donaghey Student Center, which turned into a part-time graphic designer position this semester. This week, Hallmark began a graphic design position at Heathcott Associates, an advertising agency based in Little Rock.