732 students graduated during MSU Texas’ centennial year. A milestone that brought together family and friends to Kay Yeager Coliseum to celebrate the graduates.

DATE | May 7, 2022

LOCATION | Kay Yeager Coliseum

SPEAKER | Maj. Gen. Dawn Farrell, USAF, retired and MSU alumna

HARDIN PROFESSOR 2022 RECIPIENT | Robert Forrester, professor of energy finance

DEGREES

• Master’s | 92
• Bachelor’s | 640

By COLLEGE

• Dillard College of Business Administration | 95
• Gordon T. and Ellen West College of Education | 162
• Lamar D. Fain College of Fine Arts | 44
• Robert D. and Carol Gunn College of Health Sciences and Human Services | 289
• Prothro-Yeager College of Humanities and Social Sciences | 63
• McCoy College of Science, Mathematics and Engineering | 79

By DEGREE

• Master of Business Administration | 12
• Master of Arts | 12
• Master of Education | 48
• Master of Arts in Criminal Justice | 4
• Master of Health Administration | 2
• Master of Science in Exercise Physiology | 6
• Master of Radiologic Sciences | 2
• Master of Science | 6
• Bachelor of Business Administration | 83
• Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences | 63
• Bachelor of Arts | 65
• Bachelor of Science | 74
• Bachelor of Science in Education | 6
• Bachelor of Science in Interdisciplinary Studies | 26
• Bachelor of Fine Arts | 17
• Bachelor of Music | 10
• Bachelor of Science in Athletic Training | 8
• Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice | 15
• Bachelor of Science in Dental Hygiene | 18
• Bachelor of Science in Exercise Physiology | 16
• Bachelor of Science in Nursing | 82
• Bachelor of Science in Radiologic Sciences | 36
• Bachelor of Science in Radiologic Technology | 35
• Bachelor of Science in Respiratory Care | 46
• Bachelor of Social Work | 19
• Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering | 21

Source: Midwestern State University Commencement Program

Gallery • 6 Photos

Colin Stevenson

Interim provost Martin Camacho gives introducing remarks and takes a moment to recognizing the faculty and staff of MSU, May 7.

QUOTES FROM THE DAY

“I am excited to graduate after spending five years at MSU with two degrees. I am excited to have graduated and moving on to the next phase in life.” | Jernell John Baptiste, Master of Business Administration.

“This is my third masters with MSU so I’m gonna be a special education teacher but I’m also gonna venture into having my own special education vocational school.” | Tahyra Noel, Master in Business Administration and Energy Management.

“I feel very accomplished. It’s been a journey. I am 43 years old so it took me a while to make this decision but I feel very accomplished and proud that I did. I would like to thank my family, my husband who has been very supportive and has been taking care of the kids…I would also like to thank my kids and my mom because she has always believed in me. Speaking of the next part of my life, I will be taking a test to be a principal or an assistant principal or to get the experience of an administrator. A word of advice to those still in college would be to stay on track and no matter what life throws at you, you can do it and it may not be in the time you expect to get it but when you do, it will be very worth it.” | Deborah Melendez, Master in Educational Leadership.

“I feel great, because I’m a first generation college student so it feels nice [to be] the first one in my family to graduate from college. This is just the beginning because I’m going to go do my NBA to become a CPA, that’s my goal.” | Joanna Torres, Bachelors of Business Administration and Accounting. 

“I’ve been working as an intern for already a year now. So, they’ve already hired me full time [and] I start mid-may. I’ll start as a customer support technician… MSU really prepared me very well for this position… Go out and live. Don’t stay in your dorm. Don’t worry about school too much, but worry about school just enough to get you through.” | Cody King, Bachelor of Business Administration in MIS.

“I honestly can’t believe it’s real. Four years went by extremely fast and as far as post-graduation, I am just trying to get a job as a teacher in the Denton area; anywhere between elementary 3-6 grade.” | Melanie Castillo, Bachelor of Science in Interdisciplinary Studies.

“I am ready to get into the real world and start making some real money… I plan on just traveling this summer, saving up some money and then I’ll move onto the Metroplex area.” | Haley Page, Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance.

“I am applying to graduate school and am hoping to get accepted into Sam Houston. I feel like I’ve accomplished a milestone and hopefully I can just continue to accomplish more as I go on in life.” | Dwayne Tate, Bachelor of Science in Education.

“I feel pretty good that I have graduated because it’s been a long time coming and I am ready to go out and start doing my thing. Also now that I’m done, I am looking forward to teaching science at Wichita Falls High School. I would like to thank my family for the most part and my friends that supported me through the years.” | Dylan Blackwell, Bachelor of Science in Composite Lifestyle Education

“Stay focused. Be positive. Have a good connection around you like good friends, good family. Have a good support system and, you know, just always remain hopeful because you will finish. It might feel a little rough in the beginning but you’re gonna get it it. No matter how long or short it takes, you will get there.” | Whitney Irish, Bachelor of Science in Dental Hygiene.

“I’m really proud of graduating and I plan on finding a job and exploring more opportunities and careers within finance.” | Katherine Carvajal, Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance.

“The work is gonna be tough. It is tough, but just keep pushing and always look for other people’s advice. Many of us are actually ahead of them which [means we] may have more advice that they might need…Just look out for other people like [yourself].” | Mia Albertin, Bachelor of Science in Biology.

“I’m ready to make money. It’s been a great journey and making it this far, especially coming back to college once you’ve been out can be challenging but I’m glad I did it.” |  Jaime Alemán, Bachelor of Arts in Spanish.

“I feel really good about graduating. This was a really difficult semester for me, I was taking 19 credit hours so I am very happy to be done. I would like to thank my parents and my professors, especially my professors in the English department for really pushing me to try new things and I’m really grateful for them. I am excited for the next chapter of my life because I have received a full ride to Texas Tech University to study arts administration and I will be getting my master of fine arts in arts administration.” | Rachel Shipley, Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theater and Bachelor of Arts in English.

“I feel kind of accomplished because I know that the degree in itself is a bit difficult and I remember all of the sleepless nights I had to accomplish this. I feel accomplishment now. I’m one step closer to my dream… I’d like to be a cardiac surgeon one day… I feel like I’ll probably seek employment for one year and then I’ll probably dive into med school- hopefully, if all goes as planned… Sometimes you hear ‘university’ and you think it’s really difficult. Sometimes you feel like you can’t accomplish your goal and you feel like it’s near impossible, but there’s these nights when you decide to give an extra push. That’s what separates you from the rest. It’s a really good experience because it matures you. It prepares you for the world. It molds you into an adult.” | Leon Abraham, Bachelor of Science in Biology.

“ [Graduating] still hasn’t settled, I haven’t processed that I have actually graduated yet but I am very excited and happy.” | Carolina Beltran,  Bachelor of Science in Nursing.

“I am extremely happy to be done with college but I am also sad to be leaving the amazing people I have met in my time here. In terms of future plans, I plan to work for a year than rethink if I want to go to graduate school or not, I’m also going to be making connections via the Red River Lyric Opera, take care of myself physically and mentally, working with DAWS (Digital Audio Workspaces) and learning to play the piano. Finally I would like for the people still enrolled at MSU to know that God blessed me with the opportunity to meet extremely talented, kind, and passionate people. People who believed in me and my vision and supported me for it. Those same people inspire me to be my best self and for that I will forever be grateful so, I would like to thank the members of the MSU faculty and my friends and peers that encouraged me to be myself and loved me for it and I would like to encourage students at MSU to find those that will love and accept you flaws and all.” | Haley Hancock, Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance.

“I am a single mother of three and this just makes me so excited. I’ve worked really hard. I am happy that I can be example for my kids. I’m thinking of getting my masters but for now, I am just wanting to job search and doing nothing else.” |  Magnolia Minyard, Bachelor of Arts in Spanish.

“I am truly ecstatic to be done. It’s been four long years but I was finally able to get my degree and I hope I will be able to work in the real world. My future plans now that I am graduated is actually quite funny because originally since freshman year of college, I planned on going to medical school after college but I recently made a decision to pursue a Master in Computer Science after having obtained my Bachelor in Biology. My Advice for undergraduates at MSU would be to pursue a career that checks two boxes, the first being that your degree should be able to support you financially and second it should be something you actually see yourself doing which seems obvious but I battled for the longest time with the expectations of being a doctor but I only soon realized that it wasn’t something I saw myself doing for the rest of my life and now that I switched, I am happier than ever.” | Brett Mitchell, Bachelor of Science in Biology.

“I’m very happy and i am looking forward to my future.” | Miranda Salinas, Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communication. 

“Honestly [graduating] still feels surreal to me, it feels more important to my family than me right now” | Jaylon Abdul-Karim, Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences in Education.

“It’s always exciting to see everybody finishing. You know, I like to look at the faces of the crowd and see their smiles and the emotion that they’re feeling at the moment. It’s just important to them to live in that moment and really enjoy the time that they have here… Remember that joy when times are hard…Take care of yourself. Please practice self-care because you will accomplish great things but we can’t do it unless we take care of ourselves.” | Marcy Brown-Marsden, dean of the McCoy college of science, math and engineering.

“I’m excited but always a little sad to see students leave. It’s bittersweet. I’m really happy for these students who have worked really hard, some harder than others, but they’ve had a lot of ups and downs, tears, laughs, all of it… I always tell my students to give [it] a little bit of time. You know there’s always this pressure. They’re like, ‘You gotta get a job. You gotta get a job,’ and especially in the arts, there isn’t that pre-packaged job necessarily waiting for them. I always tell my students, ‘You need to take advantage of every opportunity and sort of curate [your] career.’ All those opportunities become those building blocks that then get them that dream job that they want.” | Leah Gose, associate professor and chair of the art department.

“This is not my first go around, of course. I’ve been here at Midwestern over 20 years, so I have seen many of these. It’s something that you never get tired of, of course, but also the students are always new and I love coming here and sharing in their journey and sharing in their success… The commencement speaker talked about how this is not end; this is the beginning. They’re gonna see that and I get to see the beginning of their journey to whatever is next… Try to be in the moment. Celebrate the present. Enjoy this success. Look back at the past and say, ‘Yes, look at where I’ve made it here,’ and then after this, sometime soon, start looking at the future. I would hate to think that so much pressure is put of the students today to start thinking about, ‘Oh, what am I gonna do now?’ No. Celebrate. Enjoy this. Your family wants to celebrate with you, so make sure you do that. You have been given the tools to go out and have a great life, to do something reward for yourself and maybe to help others. So, make sure you move in that direction… you know how to do it, you know how to work.” | Michael Shipley, professor of biology.

“ I love that we are back together and that we are able to meet and celebrate our graduates. This is the culmination of a lot of hard work, so I want the families here, we want the students here, we want to see the joy in their faces and see the proud moms and dads and families.” | Christina McIntyre, associate professor of education.

“It’s always great to see all the graduates, the optimism, the potential, going out into the world and helping mankind… [I’d tell them to] keep working hard and that hard work should pay off, hopefully, in the end. This, of course, is kind of like a running a race. You see that finish line and now they’ve crossed this particular finish line, but now it’s onto the next race. That’s a bigger and better race, so you gotta keep the strength up, the endurance and work hard.” | Roy Vogtsberger, associate professor of biology.