2,034 .. That’s the number of undergrads who donned their caps and gowns at MTSU’s graduation ceremonies this weekend. According to Gina Fann of MTSUnews.com, the ceremonies were an ideal way to kick off life after college:
MTSUâs spring Class of 2016 undergraduates had a perfect day to start the rest of their lives Saturday, May 7, armed with new university degrees and words of inspiration from Nashville Mayor Megan Barry and HBO executive Kary Antholis.
âYour GPA is not a tattoo youâll wear for the rest of your life,â Barry, the first woman and the first Metro Council member elected Nashville mayor, told the Class of 2016 morning graduates in Murphy Center. âItâs not the sum of who you are.
âAs one MTSU graduate on my staff said, âYou can never learn less; you can only learn more.â Experience as much as you can. Read. Listen to music. Travel. Go to movies, plays and art galleries. Meet people. Stretch your imagination, and extend your sense of whatâs possible.â Antholis, president of HBO Miniseries and Cinemas Programming, reminded graduates at the afternoon ceremony that while they have many more accomplishments ahead, they should also keep in mind those who helped them reach their goals.
Explaining that his Oscar-winning documentary on Holocaust survivor Gerda Weissmann Klein, âOne Survivor Remembers,â had its impetus in his own motherâs familyâs horror in Greece at the hands of the Nazis, Antholis recalled Mrs. Kleinâs beautiful, gracious words that night and their impact since. (You can see Mrs. Kleinâs speech at http://youtu.be/5zn-fPM4KS0.)
âYou do earn success with hard work and self-reliance, but you also will be served by remaining mindful of the people whoâve helped you along the way,â Antholis said.
âAs you go forward and build your lives, enjoy success and endure setbacks, please know that you will always be well-served by honoring the voices, values and love of those who have supported you and made sacrifices for you.â
A total of 2,034 undergraduates received their degrees on the breezy spring Saturday. The morning event included students from the College of Basic and Applied Sciences, the Jones College of Business, the College of Education, and the College of Media and Entertainment. The afternoon ceremony featured students in the College of Behavioral and Health Sciences, College of Liberal Arts, and the University College.
Tennessee State Historian Carroll Van West, a longtime MTSU professor and director of the universityâs Center for Historic Preservation, addressed the universityâs first separate ceremony May 6, where 349 received their doctorate, masterâs and education specialist degrees. You can learn more about that event at http://ow.ly/aSEX3000aDX.
New MTSU graduate Kara Laneâs aspirations donât take her far from home or heart. The Beech Grove, Tennessee, resident, who grew up on a beef cattle farm, earned her bachelorâs degree in animal science with an eye toward becoming a veterinarian. âIâve just always had a love and passion for animals,â said Lane, whoâs applying to the University of Tennessee, Mississippi State and the University of Virginia in her quest to open a practice for animals of all kinds. âIâve always been interested in animal surgery. When I was younger, one of my dogs got sick and I just âĤ felt helpless. They say that (small animal practice) is where the money is, but itâs not about the money for me. Itâs about helping the animals.â
MTSU President Sidney A. McPhee encouraged that sort of perspective in his address to the graduates.
âYouâll become part of the distinguished history of this institution,â he said. âWe make up more than just an academic community; we are a family.â
New graduate Alison Todd, 21, of Murfreesboro represents the fourth generation of her familyâs affiliation with MTSU. A cum laude graduate with a bachelorâs degree in anthropology and minors in French and Spanish from the College of Liberal Arts and the University Honors College, Todd played in the Band of Blue, was president of the Sigma Alpha Iota music fraternity and worked in multiple campus offices.
âThis is a culmination of a lot of hard work and time teachers have given me. It is a big deal â everything I ever worked for,â said Todd, who will spend the summer at an archaeological field school in Romania, Greece and England, then take a year off in a volunteer reading/speaking English role before attending graduate school to study forensic anthropology.
You can see photos from the dayâs events at http://facebook.com/mtsublueraiders. A PDF copy of the complete spring 2016 commencement program, which includes all the graduatesâ names and degrees, is available at http://ow.ly/wjeI3000Nhm.