Badger alumnus and Coca-Cola executive Ben Deutsch will be the keynote speaker for this winter commencement ceremony.

Deutsch, who graduated from University of Wisconsin in 1985 with a degree in journalism, will give his speech to graduates on Sunday, Dec. 21 at the Kohl Center, according to a UW statement.

After turning away from his aspiration to become a sportscaster, Deutsch eventually assumed his current position as the vice president of corporate communications at The Coca-Cola Company, where he started as a public relations manager in 1993, according to the statement. He attributes much of what he’s become to his experience at the school of journalism and his relationship with his professors.

“This university means so much to me,” Deutsch said in the statement. “It has everything to do with whatever kind of success I’ve had, personally and professionally. What I learned at the J-school — the impact my professors had, the help they gave in building a network and getting my first job — stays with me today.”

Students who finished a degree in the summer and fall of 2014 are included in the winter commencement ceremony. Graduates with bachelor’s, master’s, doctoral and professional degree candidates in any school or college at UW can attend.

“Having a degree from UW means a lot to employers around the globe; it has a tremendous reputation,” Deutsch said. “When a UW graduate comes across our radar, people pay attention.”