(upbeat music) (audience applauding and cheering) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (audience applauding and cheering) (upbeat music) (audience applauding and cheering) - Good morning, I'm Chris Long, Dean of the College of Arts and Letters.

(audience cheering and applauding) We gather today to celebrate the graduates from the College of Arts and Letters.

Please stand and join in singing one stanza of "America the Beautiful" led by Landon Black, a music education and performance senior in the College of Music, who will be accompanied by the MSU Symphony Band under the direction of conductor Michael Gabriel.

(upbeat music) ♪ Oh beautiful, for spacious skies ♪ ♪ For amber waves of grain ♪ ♪ For purple mountain majesties ♪ ♪ Above the fruited plains ♪ ♪ America, America, God shed His grace on thee ♪ ♪ And crowned thy good, with brotherhood ♪ ♪ From sea to shining sea ♪ (audience applauding) - You may be seated.

On behalf of the faculty and staff of the College of Arts and Letters, I welcome all graduates, families, and friends to the Commencement Ceremony of the Class of 2024 from the College of Arts and Letters at Michigan State University.

(audience applauding and cheering) As we begin our ceremony today, I would like to acknowledge the land Michigan State's main campus occupies.

We collectively acknowledge that Michigan State University occupies the ancestral, traditional, and contemporary lands of the Anishinaabeg, the Three Fires Confederacy of Ojibwe, Odawa, and Potawatomi Peoples.

In particular, the university resides on land seated in the 1819 Treaty of Saginaw.

We recognize, support, and advocate for the sovereignty of Michigan's 12 federally recognized Indian nations, for historic indigenous communities in Michigan, for indigenous individuals, and communities who live here now, and for those who were forcibly removed from their homelands, thank you.

(audience applauding) Today, we come together to honor our outstanding graduates along with their family and friends, to honor all of you.

Before we shift to a celebration of your accomplishments, let us reflect on the relationships and people that helped bring us to this day of commencement.

Let us pause for a moment of silence to consider how we can live our lives in a way that honors the spirit of those who are no longer with us.

Thank you.

The ceremony we celebrate today is called Commencement because it marks a beginning.

You are heading down a new path as you walk across this stage, leave the campus you have called home, and continue to chart the meaningful course of your lives.

At such moments of beginning, it is fitting to reflect upon the paths that have brought you to this commencement for we celebrate here today not just the classes you have passed, the co-curricular work you have pursued, the completion of internships, but the collective educational experiences that empower you to create a more just and beautiful world.

At the heart of a liberal arts education is the cultivation of intellectual, creative, and ethical habits that will enable you to live a fulfilling life.

And now it is my pleasure to introduce the honorable Brianna Scott, member of the MSU Board of Trustees, to welcome you to this commencement ceremony.

Please join me.

(audience applauding) - Thank you, Dean Long.

Good morning, Go Green.

- [Audience Members] Go White.

- I am honored to be here in front of our humanitarians, our artists, our creatives.

It's the first time I've been invited to be at commencement and this is indeed an honor so thank you for having me today, I'm off script.

I'm profoundly honored to stand before you today representing the Michigan State Board of Trustees.

It is a significant moment as we gather here to celebrate the graduation of our Spartan scholars, a milestone that marks both an ending and a beginning in their lives.

First and foremost, allow me to extend a warm welcome to each of our graduates as well as their families and friends who have joined us here today.

Your presence here exemplifies the shared joy and unwavering support that are foundational to our Spartan family.

At MSU, the Board of Trustees is deeply committed to upholding the foundational principles entrusted to us by the Michigan Constitution.

Our duties, which include the pivotal role of conferring degrees, are carried out with great pride and diligence.

Today's ceremony, therefore, is much more than a formal acknowledgement.

It is a celebration of dedication, perseverance, and creative contributions each one of you has made.

The degree you are about to receive is a testament not only to your hard work, but also to the sacrifices made by you and those who supported you throughout this journey.

It represents the knowledge you have gained, the challenges you have overcome, and the growth that you have experienced.

As you embark on the next chapter of your lives, we encourage you to lead with conviction.

Use the knowledge and the insights that you have gained here to uplift communities, advance the well-being of society, and inspire hope among your peers.

Now, know that your faculty, administrators, and fellow trustees celebrate your achievements with immense pride.

We also take a moment to recognize the scholars who have distinguished themselves by securing the prestigious Board of Trustees Award.

This award, a testament to academic excellence, is evidenced by a flawless 4.0 GPA predominantly achieved through rigorous coursework at our university.

Your academic success brings honor not only to yourselves, but also elevates the entire Spartan community.

On behalf of your peers, our distinguished faculty, and the university leadership, I extend my heartfelt congratulations and best wishes to you all.

To the distinguished graduates receiving the Board of Trustees Award, I invite you to stand, please remain standing as we call your names.

Let us hold our applause until every name has been announced so we can properly honor each of these remarkable individuals.

Kathryn E. Anderson, English, College of Arts and Letters, Psychology, College of Social Science, Honors College.

Sumaiya Asghar, Supply Chain Management, Eli Broad College of Business, Experience Architecture, College of Arts and Letters.

Vicky Chen, Experience Architecture, College of Arts and Letters.

Kareena S. Gooroochurn, Human Biology, Lyman Briggs College, French, College of Arts and Letters, Honors College.

Cameryn M. Hatfeld, Experience Architecture, College of Arts and Letters.

Edison X. Lewis, Material Science and Engineering, College of Engineering, Chinese, College of Arts and Letters, Honors College.

Laine E. Lord, Art History and Visual Culture, College of Arts and Letters, Honors College.

Morgan P. Manuszak, Arts and Letters, Residential College of Arts and Humanities, Art History, Visual Culture, College of Arts and Letters, Honors College.

Ally L. Miscikoski, Studio Art, College of Arts and Letters, Honors College.

Hady S. Omar, Human Biology, College of Natural Science, Religious Studies, College of Arts and Letters, Honors College.

Emily S. Paterson, Experience Architecture, College of Arts and Letters.

Sydney M. Savage, Psychology, College of Social Science, English, College of Arts and Letters, Honors College.

Zachary Sebree, French, College of Arts and Letters, Global History, College of Social Science, Honors College.

Ellie Stanislav, Studio Art, College of Arts and Letters.

Sophia M. Straub, Experience Architecture, College of Arts and Letters.

Melissa Utykanski, Graphic Design, College of Arts and Letters.

Kira A. Vander Molen, Linguistic, College of Arts and Letters, Honors College.

Halle K. White, Graphic Design, College of Arts and Letters, Honors College.

Basil R. Winters, Political Science, Pre-Law, College of Social Science, Professional and Public Writing, College of Arts and Letters, Honors College.

Let us now join in a round of applause to celebrate the 2024 Board of Trustee Award recipients who exemplify.

(audience applauding and cheering) You should be very proud.

You all exemplify being a Spartan with excellence at its finest.

Your achievements reflect the high standard and values of our institution and we are proud to recognize your hard work and your dedication.

Thank you and congratulations once again to all of our graduates.

Your future is bright and we look forward to seeing you and the incredible impact that you all will have in the world.

Thank you.

(audience applauding) - Thank you.

You may be seated.

Thank you, Trustee Scott.

And now I would like to present the Louis B. Sudler Prize Award winner.

This award goes to graduating seniors who have demonstrated outstanding achievement in the areas of performing and creative arts, including the fine arts, music, creative writing, theater or electronic or photographic arts, and also who show promise of future achievement.

I'd like to recognize the class of 2024 Louis B. Sudler Prize Award winners.

Meleah Acuf, Theater Major.

(audience applauding and cheering) Jasmine Brocks-Matthews, Studio Art Major.

(audience applauding and cheering) And Doug Mains, English Major.

(audience applauding and cheering) Please give them a round of applause.

(audience applauding and cheering) At this time, I would like to recognize our citizen scholars who are graduating with us today, established in 2016.

The Citizen Scholars Program is a prestigious scholarly program designed to prepare students to succeed academically while gaining experience with high-impact learning opportunities such as study abroad, undergraduate research, and internships.

This program sets high standards for high-achieving students who expect to be challenged.

Over the years, these students have put their arts and humanities values, knowledge, skills, and practices into action in ways that create a more just and open society.

Today we have two students graduating from the Citizen Scholars Program.

First, Kylie Schmidt, Humanities Pre-Law.

(all applauding) And second, Michelle Sanda, German.

(all applauding) Thank you, Kylie and Michelle.

We now turn to recognize the winner of our top award for a College of Arts and Letters student, and that is the 2024 Outstanding Senior Achievement Award.

This award is given annually to a student who embodies four hallmark characteristics of an outstanding graduate, personal service and leadership, personal and professional development, interdisciplinary scholarship and practice, and fourth, a commitment to cross-cultural diversity.

Please join me in congratulating this year's winner of the College of Arts and Letters Outstanding Achievement Award, Hibah Khan, a Humanities Pre-Law Major.

Hibah, will you please stand?

(all applauding) Congratulations, Hibah.

In recognizing these students and award winners, we celebrate the deepest values of the liberal arts education each of you has pursued.

Your College of Arts and Letters degree at Michigan State University draws upon the power of varied viewpoints and diverse backgrounds.

Many of you have interned at organizations and studied abroad in countries all around the world.

These experiences have provided you with the capacity to think critically, imagine creatively, and respond ethically to the most pressing social and cultural challenges we face.

Your education in the College of Arts and Letters has empowered you to be conscientious and engaged citizen leaders who can work collaboratively with local, national, and global organizations.

Your degrees have been enhanced by the study and practice of written and artistic expression from diverse traditions and interdisciplinary courses.

So you are prepared to live in multiple worlds and you can imagine how to enrich lives and relationships in a wide variety of different contexts.

For generations, alumni from the College of Arts and Letters at Michigan State University have transformed lives through engaged leadership and I know each of you will do the same.

But to do this, you must put the values that have shaped your educational experience into intentional practice.

Only through intentional practice will your passion, leadership, and talent mobilize the power of an MSU liberal arts degree to bring more justice and beauty into a world so badly in need of both.

On behalf of the faculty and the staff of the College of Arts and Letters, I wish you joy and fulfillment as you pursue the personal goals each of you have for your lives, for your families, and for your communities, but we hope too, that you embark upon this new journey, that you will remember how your experience here on the banks of the Red Cedar has shaped the person you have become, and that you'll return often to mentor and support the next generation of students in the same spirit in which those who came before you provided the support and encouragement you needed to arrive at this exciting moment of commencement.

Thank you.

(audience applauding and cheering) And now it is my pleasure to ask Justus Nieland, Chairperson of the Department of English to introduce our student speaker.

(audience applauding) - Congratulations, graduates.

I'm pleased to be here today to introduce you to our student commencement speaker, Katie Anderson.

Katie is graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English for secondary education from the College of Arts and Letters and a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology from the College of Social Science.

She's also a graduate of the Honors College.

This past year, Katie has student taught at East Lansing High School and helped run an afterschool program at McDonald Middle School.

She was part of our Literature in London, Study Abroad program last summer, and also during her time at MSU, Katie was the co-chair of the Impulse Dance team.

She worked an on-campus job at the undergraduate research office and was the president of the student affiliate of the National Council of Teachers of English, the NCTE.

Under Katie's leadership, that organization was the only NCTE student affiliate in the country to receive this year's NCTE Student Affiliate Excellence Award.

This was the seventh year in a row that this MSU organization has won that award, but this was Katie's first time being able to receive the award in person.

Katie recently was awarded the prestigious Board of Trustees' Award due to her impressive 4.0 grade point average.

Next year, Katie will be student teaching both English and psychology at City Middle High School in Grand Rapids as one of the last cohorts of MSU students who are completing the five-year education program, I invite all of you to join me in welcoming to the podium, the MSU College of Arts and Letters, 2024 undergraduate commencement speaker Katie Anderson.

(audience applauding and cheering) - He's a lot taller than I am.

Thank you Dr. Nieland, for your kind introduction.

It is with the utmost honor and gratitude that I'm standing here right now in front of faculty, friends, and family, including my own who didn't know I was giving this speech today.

Surprise.

But most importantly, I am proud to be addressing my fellow incredible College of Arts and Letters graduating class of 2024.

Yeah.

(audience applauding and cheering) I wanna preface the speech by letting you all know that I make no claims to be a wine connoisseur.

As someone who has purchased the kind that comes in a box, I cannot profess expertise in the world of wine.

However, when touring a vineyard last year I was given a glimpse into the art of wine-making and the process of growing grapes for wine.

I knew from elementary school that plants are supposed to be nurtured with great care, provided rich soil, ample sunlight, and generous water.

Yet I discovered that grapes are subjected to a very different treatment.

Their seeds are scattered on rocky terrain instead of pure soil and are planted on hillsides instead of level earth.

So the rainwater trickles away making them struggle to survive.

Grapevines are tightly positioned on their trellises, compelling them to compete for resources and are rigorously pruned in order to overwork the plant instead of giving them the space they need to flourish.

This confusing process called stressing forces the vines to delve deeper into the earth in search of nutrients and yield smaller grapes with more concentrated flavors, which in turn creates better wine.

Without this intentional pressure put on the plants, the grapes would become too large and watery, which would create a bland, diluted drink.

To put this in other words, the harsher the conditions, the better the product.

I think back to this memory because it was so interesting to learn that something that may seem entirely counterintuitive can produce such an exceptional result.

To me, this serves as a vivid illustration of how adversity can still lead to excellence despite all odds, this notion exemplified in the vineyard, reflects deeply on the human experience and the things we all overcame to get to where we are today.

It serves as a lesson surrounding the struggles we encounter in our lives and the way they force us to grow beyond what we originally thought was possible.

Some of these struggles take place in the small stumbles we all face like missing the CATA-bus, getting your fourth parking ticket of the month or realizing you ran outta combo exchanges after already choosing your three items.

These are the little things we have to overcome each day that set us back in small ways and force us to look for new solutions.

Other struggles are so big that they transform our lives and threaten to uproot us from the very core of our being.

They are the things that make us wanna give up or force us to question why we even started in the first place.

I know from living through it that these types of hardships were not scarce through our shared college experience.

Between starting college at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and questioning whether or not life would ever get back to normal, the tragic events that took place last February that we still grieve today, and everything else that occurred in our personal lives and around the world.

I know our journey has not been easy, but just like the grapevine's resilience is shown through the product it creates, our own tribulations can also serve to strengthen us.

Like the vines stretching the roots deeper into the earth, we too have been forced to dig deeper within ourselves to overcome our challenges.

We have faced rocky terrains that have forced us to grow in ways we never anticipated.

Like the vines crowded on the, like the grapes crowded on the vine.

We started off our new chapter thrown into an unfamiliar place with unfamiliar people and have fought to find our place in the sun.

In embracing the challenges we face, we allow ourselves to be molded into stronger, more refined individuals.

Our struggles are not merely obstacles to overcome, but also opportunities to grow, to improve, and to refine not just our skills but our very character.

We are in a sense like the wine that results from stress vines, more complex, more nuanced, and ultimately, more value.

Though this process may seem daunting, we may find comfort in the fact that we never have to do it alone.

The vineyard is not just made up of individual vines.

It is a network of interconnected roots each supporting and sustaining the others in much the same way, our communities provide us with the strength, encouragement, and support we need to weather life's storms, whether it's the encouragement of friends and family, the guidance of mentors or the strength found in shared experiences, our communities provide us with the support we need to persevere.

Just as the grapevines are stronger together so too are we stronger when we lean on each other.

Speaking of which, I have never seen a stronger community than the MSU community, between current students, faculty, alumni, state fans, all across the globe and even the campus squirrels, the light of each Spartan shines brightly.

In times of need, we come together with unwavering support and solidarity, and in times of celebration, the electric energy of Spartans is contagious.

When I think of the MSU spirit, I think of East Lansing on a game day, with people covering the campus in a sea of green and white.

The uproar of stressed voices screaming in harmony at midnight during finals week.

And the peaceful walks along the Red Cedar with friends.

These are the things that bring us together and are part of the memories that will last a lifetime.

I believe the collective resilience and spirit of Spartans truly sets the MSU community apart.

To conclude, nature teaches us that challenge is not merely an obstacle, but an opportunity for growth.

As poet and author Oscar Wilde once said, "Experience is simply the name we give our mistakes.

The stumbles and missteps we take are not marks of failure, but stepping stones on the path to success."

Just as a fine wine is crafted through the trials endured by the grapevine, we too are shaped by the challenges we confront and the experiences we encounter.

As we embark on this next chapter of life.

Keep embracing your mistakes, supporting one another, and celebrating every success.

Plant your roots deep enough to never forget where you came from, but allow yourself the space to stretch out and explore new horizons as the next actors, artists, designers, filmmakers, linguistics, philosophers, poets, teachers, and writers, I have no doubt that you will plant the seeds that change the world and keep growing to reach the sun.

Thank you.

And Go Green.

- [Audience Members] Go White.

(audience applauding and cheering) - Thank you, Katie.

At this time, chairpersons and directors from the college will introduce the candidates for Baccalaureates Degrees from the College of Arts and Letters.

As the graduates come forward, they will be in alphabetical order by department or degree program.

Graduates, please return to your seats after your name is read, the token diploma presented, and photos taken.

Jody Knol and Scott Pohl will read the names of the graduates as they receive their diplomas.

Now I ask Associate Dean for undergraduate studies for the College of Arts and Letters, Sonja Fritzsche, to introduce the chairpersons who will then introduce their degree candidates.

- Thank you, Dean Long Please, welcome Professor Ruth Nicole Brown, Chairperson, Department of African-American and African Studies.

(audience applauding and cheering) - Hello and thank you Associate Dean Fritzsche, Dean Long.

Hello everyone, good morning.

On July 1st, 2019, the African-American and African Studies program became a department.

June 2020, Dr. Ruth Nicole Brown was hired to lead African-American and African Studies, or what we beloved refer to as Triple AAAS, as the inaugural chairperson, currently to date, I'm so proud that we are with 11 full-time, a hundred percent faculty members who I would like to ask to join me on stage now, if you all come and take the stairs.

(audience applauding and cheering) Yes, applause.

(audience applauding) In four years, we have created a solid creative and collaborative foundation from which we faculty, along with our students, staff, their families are living and launching new dreams and collective aspirations.

One of our first dreams we made good on was offering the new major in AAAS during the spring semester of 2022.

For the first time in Michigan State University's history, students can now receive a BA in African-American and African Studies.

(audience applauding and cheering) President Kevin Guskiewicz says, we prepare students for jobs that don't yet exist.

Dean Christopher Long insists that AAAS and every department in this college name and live out our values.

Dean Long and the College of Arts and Letters Associate Deans encourage us to chart and follow our own unique path of intellectual leadership with much creativity, care, and trust.

In AAAS, we know we are doing our part because if you're following the math and know a bit about how much time it takes to create change in a university, this year, we are extremely proud to present to you the first three graduates in the history of Michigan State University to graduate with a major in African-American and African Studies.

Yes.

(audience applauding and cheering) Take the stairs.

Morgan Braswell, Jhala Martin, and Mike Martin, please take to the stairs and join us on stage.

Yes.

Clap it up.

Applause.

(audience applauding and cheering) You all.

Yes.

You all found AAAS.

Yes, come on.

It's our renaissance.

(audience applauding and cheering) Morgan, Jhala, Mike, you all found AAAS when we did not yet appear on the dropdown menus.

We weren't listed in print and well before we filled North Kedzie with our love and laughter.

To Jhala, Mike, and Morgan, we celebrate your readiness for what is on the way because you dare to act on behalf of who you want to be and become not who you were told to be.

We honor your brilliance and are more astute in our understanding of black studies because of how you danced, how you remembered and exhibited our recipes, and for all the ways your spirit shines when mentoring young people and being in community with one another.

Each of you proven leaders, beware of anyone who ask you to prove yourself so you can play.

Okay?

First among us, so many more witnessing your achievement today.

May you continue to walk with the knowledge and faith that even if you don't yet see what it is, you need to be your wisest, most radical black fem self in the same way AAAS was being built so you would and could not miss us.

You are the future's future.

Our greatest why and the first-ever AAAS graduates in MSU's history.

Ready?

Yes, applause.

(audience applauding and cheering) You all are ready for a world that doesn't exist, but we are actively creating and we know it's on its way.

It's predicated on each of you thriving.

We are in celebration of you, Jhala, Mike, and Morgan.

Congratulations, you mighty champions of change.

(audience applauding and cheering) (audience applauding and cheering) - Morgan Braswell.

(audience applauding and cheering) McKayla Michelle Martin.

(audience applauding and cheering) Jhala Martin.

(audience applauding and cheering) - So please welcome Professor Tanya Hartman, Chair Department of Art, Art History, and Design.

(audience applauding and cheering) - What a beautiful college this is.

We're so lucky to be a part of it.

Will the candidates for Art, Art History, and Design, profound and creative, please come forward.

- Jennifer Michelle Williams.

(audience applauding and cheering) Kaitlyn Groner.

(audience applauding and cheering) Marchello Morales.

(audience applauding and cheering) Nikki Beechie.

(audience applauding and cheering) Lily Kalaunu Paschoal.

(audience applauding and cheering) Ashley Isabel Gilbert.

(audience applauding and cheering) Ally Miscikoski.

(audience applauding and cheering) Ren Davis.

(audience applauding and cheering) Kailey Nguyen Dong.

(audience applauding and cheering) Rose Rzepecki.

(audience applauding and cheering) Ziniu Yu.

(audience applauding and cheering) Emily Tremewan.

(audience applauding and cheering) Mary Reynolds.

(audience applauding) Alexa Baldini.

(audience applauding and cheering) Whitney Howard.

(audience applauding and cheering) Madison Coryn.

(audience applauding) Julia Tatone.

(audience applauding and cheering) Saberta Santecia Guillet.

(audience applauding and cheering) Jasmine Brocks-Matthews.

(audience applauding and cheering) Hadara Hurene Willis.

(audience applauding and cheering) Hannah Moler.

(audience applauding and cheering) Alyssa Lauren Gauthier.

(audience applauding and cheering) Kieryn Darling.

(audience applauding) Lauren Claire Prost.

(audience applauding) Yiyi Chen.

(audience applauding) Jiaxuan Xiong.

(audience applauding and cheering) Xiling Wu.

(audience applauding and cheering) Ning Zhou.

(audience applauding and cheering) Caiyin Liang.

(audience applauding and cheering) Tegan Burns.

(audience applauding and cheering) Natalie Lopez.

(audience applauding and cheering) Brianna Botoroaga.

(audience applauding and cheering) Xeviohna Hayes.

(audience applauding and cheering) Charles Thomas Madden.

(audience applauding and cheering) Cammy Workinger.

(audience applauding and cheering) Jackson Tatge.

(audience applauding and cheering) Alicea Heady.

(audience applauding and cheering) Be'Ajah Lavonne Cooper.

(audience applauding and cheering) Kendall Wynn.

(audience applauding and cheering) Christian Allen Liggett.

(audience applauding and cheering) Donna Proctor.

(audience applauding and cheering) Mackenzie Michelle Sheehan-D'arrigo.

(audience applauding and cheering) Hannah Gartley.

(audience applauding and cheering) Ellie Stanislav.

(audience applauding and cheering) Mark Lopez.

(audience applauding and cheering) Juliana Joseph.

(audience applauding and cheering) Camryn Leigh Wolffis.

(audience applauding and cheering) Shaylyn Marie Sprague.

(audience applauding and cheering) Ellie Min Lee Brouwers.

(audience applauding and cheering) Kailey Deweerd.

(audience applauding and cheering) Crystal Nicole Rosas.

(audience applauding and cheering) Adrianna Diponio.

(audience applauding and cheering) Madison Taylor Winkelpleck.

(audience applauding and cheering) Meghanrose Shingle.

(audience applauding and cheering) Ze Liu.

(audience applauding and cheering) Isabella Lopez.

(audience applauding and cheering) Laine Elizabeth Lord.

(audience applauding and cheering) Caitlyn Quan.

(audience applauding and cheering) Jordan Williams.

(audience applauding and cheering) Caitlyn Joli Metohu.

(audience applauding and cheering) Andrea Lupe Salcido.

(audience applauding and cheering) Madeline Rappley.

(audience applauding and cheering) Rageon Jalon Thomas.

(audience applauding and cheering) Emma Jane Newman.

(audience applauding and cheering) Morgan Manuszak.

(audience applauding and cheering) Rebecca Sun.

(audience applauding and cheering) Christopher Robinson.

(audience applauding and cheering) Miriam Deeb.

(audience applauding and cheering) Melissa Utykanski.

(audience applauding and cheering) Halle White.

(audience applauding and cheering) Hope Bennethum.

(audience applauding and cheering) Jane Olivia Lincoln.

(audience applauding and cheering) Maxwell Patrick Dalton.

(audience applauding and cheering) Gabrielle Girardin.

(audience applauding and cheering) Kelli Boling.

- So, please welcome Professor Justice Nieland, Chair, Department of English.

(audience applauding and cheering) - Will the candidates for English and Film Studies who embody the power of the arts and humanities to make our world more beautiful, more full of meaning and more just, please come forward.

(audience cheering) - Kassandra K. Heitman.

(audience applauding and cheering) Kathryn Elizabeth Graessle.

(audience applauding and cheering) Rose Butler-Shriner.

(audience applauding and cheering) Jack Casey DeBona.

(audience applauding and cheering) Kathryn Anna Cook.

(audience applauding and cheering) Brooklyn Elisabeth Mychalowych.

(audience applauding and cheering) Brigita Nicole Felkers.

(audience cheering) Sarah Abrams.

(audience cheering) Marissa Cole.

(audience cheering) Nina Julin.

(audience applauding and cheering) Kathryn Elaine Anderson.

(audience applauding and cheering) Heather Dean.

(audience applauding and cheering) Sophie June Linsalata.

(audience applauding and cheering) Brynn Elise Kuhlman.

(audience applauding and cheering) Madeline Gullion.

(audience applauding and cheering) Danilo Judd.

(audience applauding and cheering) Alexa Grace Kiefer.

(audience applauding and cheering) Kaleigh Joan McCarron.

(audience applauding and cheering) Emma Kuhr.

(audience applauding and cheering) Christina Kusterer.

(audience applauding and cheering) Lillian Rose Caister.

(audience applauding) Olivia Hans.

(audience applauding and cheering) Annalynn Louise Bagin.

(audience applauding and cheering) Kalynna Davies.

(audience applauding and cheering) Zachary Alabakoff.

(audience applauding and cheering) Abigail Jane Budd.

(audience applauding and cheering) Alli Hukill.

(audience applauding and cheering) Isabella Maria Tembras Gardner.

(audience applauding and cheering) Katelynn Ruth Medley.

(audience applauding and cheering) Adriana Lulgjuraj.

(audience applauding and cheering) Madelyn Turrill.

(audience applauding and cheering) Devinne Tate.

(audience applauding and cheering) Madison Sopha.

(audience applauding and cheering) Sydney Garnet Mullett.

(audience applauding and cheering) Margaret Perlstein.

(audience applauding and cheering) Lauren Cocchetto Miller (audience applauding and cheering) Bella Montoya.

(audience applauding and cheering) Emma Larsen.

(audience applauding and cheering) Olivia McDonald.

(audience applauding and cheering) Hajra Masinovic.

(audience applauding and cheering) Sierra Elizabeth McIntosh.

(audience applauding and cheering) Eli Larson.

(audience applauding and cheering) Grace Carney.

(audience applauding and cheering) Sydney Savage.

(audience applauding) Summer Skye Breeze Groenke.

(audience applauding and cheering) Aiden Nolan.

(audience applauding and cheering) Autumn Rose English.

(audience applauding and cheering) Jennifer Lee.

(audience applauding and cheering) John Kunselman.

(audience applauding and cheering) Saud Mohammed AlTaroti (audience applauding) - Please welcome Professor Casey McArdle, Director of the Experience Architecture Program.

(audience applauding) - Well, the amazing, brilliant future change agents of the world, the candidates for the Experience Architecture Degree.

Come on down.

Let's do this.

(audience applauding and cheering) - Sophia Straub.

(audience applauding and cheering) Cameryn Michelle Hatfeld.

(audience applauding and cheering) Nicholas Menke.

(audience applauding and cheering) Annika Joy Hauser-Brydon.

(audience applauding and cheering) Jack Katz.

(audience applauding and cheering) Amelia Melpomene Givens.

(audience applauding and cheering) Jason Fagan.

(audience applauding and cheering) Justin Frederic Lagman.

(audience applauding and cheering) Paul Gagnon.

(audience applauding and cheering) Vicky Chen.

(audience applauding and cheering) Kathryn Farho.

(audience applauding and cheering) Mallory Nicole Wilson.

(audience applauding and cheering) Brandon McGriff.

(audience applauding and cheering) Ushasai Reddy.

(audience applauding and cheering) Kennedi Lamour Cosma.

(audience applauding and cheering) Walker Owen Widdis.

(audience applauding and cheering) Marochelle Nunez Moreno.

(audience applauding and cheering) Rimsha Malik.

(audience applauding and cheering) Maylee Rielle.

(audience applauding and cheering) Grace Turner.

(audience applauding and cheering) Alicia Petty.

(audience applauding and cheering) Bry'jon Trice.

(audience applauding and cheering) Diallo Cello.

(audience applauding and cheering) Kingsley Davis II.

(audience applauding and cheering) - Please.

- We did it.

- Please welcome Professor Julie Koehler, our Interim Assistant Director of Interdisciplinary Humanities and Humanities Pre-law.

(audience applauding and cheering) - Will the interdisciplinary, intellectually curious, and incredibly driven candidates for humanities pre-law and interdisciplinary humanities, please come forward.

- Katherine Grace Kuhr.

(audience applauding and cheering) Hibah Anwar Khan.

(audience applauding and cheering) Anna Gaskin.

(audience applauding and cheering) Daniel Higgins.

(audience applauding and cheering) Ruby Congleton-Giancaspro.

(audience applauding and cheering) Jordan Hailee Williams.

(audience applauding and cheering) Maddison Combs.

(audience applauding and cheering) Jarred Stoner.

(audience applauding and cheering) Sydney Anna Hedberg.

(audience applauding and cheering) Nicolette Tran.

(audience applauding and cheering) Sophia Frasier.

(audience applauding and cheering) Lester Younglove.

(audience applauding and cheering) Kate Cook.

(audience applauding and cheering) Monica Lynn Srock.

(audience applauding and cheering) Kennedy Wood.

(audience applauding and cheering) David Harrison.

(audience applauding and cheering) - Please welcome Professor Yen-Hwei Lin, Chair, Department of Linguistics, languages and Cultures.

(audience applauding, and cheering) - Worthy, linguistically sophisticated, culturally competent, and globally engaged candidates for linguistic language and cultures.

Please come forward.

(audience applauding and cheering) - Kalei Sliwinski.

(audience applauding and cheering) Eliana Elizabeth Drake.

(audience applauding and cheering) Edison Xavier Lewis.

(audience applauding and cheering) Michelle Marie Sanda.

(audience applauding and cheering) Destiny Ann Marie Hayes.

(audience applauding and cheering) Kira Adrian Vander Molen.

(audience applauding and cheering) James Duane Spaulding.

(audience applauding and cheering) Holly Ryan.

(audience applauding and cheering) Gage Thomas Landeryou.

(audience applauding and cheering) Caroline Zackerman.

(audience applauding and cheering) Bianca Rae Parker.

(audience applauding and cheering) Elias Young.

(audience applauding and cheering) Delaney Loretta Fedewa.

(audience applauding and cheering) Nicholas Lacroix.

(audience applauding and cheering) Belanca Ellen Rosier.

(audience applauding and cheering) - Please welcome Professor Matthew McKeon, Chair, Department of Philosophy.

(audience applauding and cheering) - Will the candidates for philosophy, please come forward.

- Scott Peyton.

(audience applauding and cheering) Jack Timmer.

(audience applauding and cheering) - Please welcome Professor Amy DeRogatis, Chair, Department of Religious Studies.

(audience applauding) - Will the candidates for the degree in Religious Studies, please come forward.

- Hady Said Omar.

(audience applauding and cheering) Mustafa Ahmed Syed.

(audience applauding and cheering) - Please welcome Professor Tony Grubbs, Chair, Department of Romance and Classical Studies.

(audience applauding and cheering) - Good morning everybody.

I would like to invite the multilingual, culturally competent, global scholars from the Department of Romance and Classical Studies.

- Jasmine Thompson-Orsua.

(audience applauding and cheering) Kendall Baugh.

(audience applauding and cheering) Anika Raine Lundeen.

(audience applauding and cheering) Zach Sebree.

(audience applauding and cheering) Madeline Morrison.

(audience applauding and cheering) Kareena Gooroochurn.

(audience applauding and cheering) Aeryn VanDerSlik.

(audience applauding and cheering) Christina Kusterer.

(audience applauding and cheering) Jess Mariella Metheny Whitmer.

(audience applauding and cheering) Hannah Nicole Fulmer.

(audience applauding and cheering) Noah Alexander Bachmann.

(audience applauding and cheering) - Please welcome Professor Stephen Di Benedetto, Chair, Department of Theater.

(audience applauding and cheering) - Will our inspired and histrionic candidates for theater, please come forward.

(audience applauding and cheering) - Meleah Acuf.

(audience applauding and cheering) Michale Cofey.

(audience applauding and cheering) Zachary William Deande.

(audience applauding and cheering) Andrew Paul Brown.

(audience applauding and cheering) QueenMakeeda Taylor (audience applauding and cheering) Samantha Stanton.

(audience applauding and cheering) Ebony Battle.

(audience applauding and cheering) Alexis Agnes Misiak.

(audience applauding and cheering) Sebastian Barnett.

(audience applauding and cheering) Sydney St. Amour.

(audience applauding and cheering) Abigail Rose Grantham.

(audience applauding and cheering) Madison Ramsey.

(audience applauding and cheering) Cora Beth Large.

(audience applauding and cheering) Rachel Nicole Kramer.

(audience applauding and cheering) Rayna Gold.

(audience applauding and cheering) Abigail Anna Mullen.

(audience applauding and cheering) B. Beethem.

(audience applauding and cheering) B.

Rose Neuhouser (audience applauding and cheering) Basil Rae Winters.

(audience applauding and cheering) Emily Rosolowski.

(audience applauding and cheering) Gabriel Blaze Herdegen.

(audience applauding and cheering) Robert Conlan Jr. (audience applauding and cheering) Alaina Gutierrez.

(audience applauding and cheering) Joie Culligan.

(audience applauding and cheering) Benjamin Ryan Corsi.

(audience applauding and cheering) Henry Clise.

(audience applauding and cheering) Tessa Creche.

(audience applauding and cheering) - Please welcome Professor Aminda Smith from the Center for Gender and Global Context, International Studies and Programs.

(audience applauding and cheering) - Will the revolutionaries who are candidates in Women's and Gender Studies, please come forward.

- Lauren Marie Dauber.

(audience applauding and cheering) Emily Louise Stone.

(audience applauding and cheering) Isabelle Raed Malik Mary.

(audience applauding and cheering) Jessica Potts.

(audience applauding and cheering) Mackenzie Lovell.

(audience applauding and cheering) - Please welcome Professor Dànielle Nicole DeVoss, Chair, Department of Writing, Rhetoric, and Cultures.

- Will the candidates for the Degree in Professional and Public Writing, please come forward.

- Helena Analise Roland.

(audience applauding and cheering) Molly Melnick.

(audience applauding and cheering) Caroline Maclellan.

(audience applauding and cheering) Amethyst Macelli.

(audience applauding and cheering) Emma Losey.

(audience applauding and cheering) Cece MacLachlan.

(audience applauding and cheering) Emily Paterson.

(audience applauding and cheering) Osafamin Sara Juwara.

(audience applauding and cheering) Abby Christine Wisniewski.

(audience applauding and cheering) Grace Weinberg.

(audience applauding and cheering) Nicholas Majelo.

(audience applauding and cheering) And Yasmeen Amjad.

(audience applauding and cheering) (audience applauding and cheering) (all applauding and cheering) - Will the candidates please stand.

(audience applauding and cheering) On behalf of Michigan State University and President Kevin Guskiewicz who has been delegated the authority of the state of Michigan vested in the board of trustees, I confer upon all of you the degrees for which you have been recommended with all the rights and distinctions to which they entitle you.

According to custom, you may now move your tassels from the right side of your caps to the left.

Congratulations, MSU alumni.

(all applauding and cheering) This act represents a great achievement and marks the beginning of a lifetime of dedicated service to the world.

This morning, we celebrate and recognize all of you who have completed an academic program in the College of Arts and Letters.

You may now be seated.

(audience applauding and cheering) I would now like to thank the staff of the College of Arts and Letters across various units, including those here at the Breslin Center.

As many of you know, a lot of planning and coordination goes into this event, and to all of these events over the course of this celebratory weekend here at the Breslin Center, and let us give them our appreciation for their work.

(audience applauding and cheering) Michigan State University has a world class faculty.

In the College of Arts and Letters, we are especially proud of the international reputations our faculty have as artists and scholars and their dedication as teachers.

In the future, almost every one of you graduating here will pause for a moment in what will surely be busy and productive lives to reflect on those teachers who took a special interest in you, who made you think a little differently or introduce you to an idea that shifted your view of things and altered the course of your life.

I ask that the representatives to the faculty rise so that we may express to them our gratitude for the exceptional contributions they and their colleagues have made to the college and to the individuals in this graduating class.

Please rise.

(audience applauding and cheering) We also pay tribute to other individuals who have contributed their love, their understanding, their support, and their resources to help make this celebration possible.

I refer to the good friends and the family members of the graduates, the parents and grandparents, partners and spouses, children, and siblings, and cousins.

Will you please rise and give us the opportunity to express our thanks and appreciation.

(audience applauding and cheering) Congratulations.

And now I would like to introduce our alumni speaker, Greg Checketts.

Greg received his bachelor's Degree in Theater from MSU.

That's right.

And for the past 20 years, he has worked as an animator for "The Simpsons", the longest running primetime TV series in the United States.

Greg started working on "The Simpsons" as a retake artist, and now is a lead character layout artist where he plays an important role in shaping the visual style and narrative flow of each episode.

However, his career started in theater where he worked a variety of jobs at a number of theater companies after graduating from MSU, these experiences helped hone his artistic skills and instilled in him a strong work ethic and collaborative spirit, qualities that serve him well today.

Greg's first job in animation was as a cleanup artist for Warner Brothers, and his first animated television series he worked on was "Futurama", a show created by Matt Groening, the creator of "The Simpsons".

In addition to Greg's work on "The Simpsons", he also works on his own creative projects, including original cartoons, and he spent several years as a visual artist instructor for the Los Angeles United School District's Gifted and Talented Program.

Looking back on his career, Greg cites the combination of his theater experience and hard work as two major factors for his creative longevity.

Let's give him a warm Spartan welcome back to campus to Greg Checketts.

(audience applauding and cheering) - Thank you, Dean Long for your kind introduction and thank you to the graduates, to the family members, to the friends, to the distinguished, and not so distinguished guests and the faculty members, and especially the College of the Arts and Letters for having me here to speak today.

And to the class of 2024, let me offer you my heartfelt congratulations.

I'm so proud to be here representing you as an alumni and to celebrate your accomplishments and to offer you, I don't wanna say my, I don't wanna say my words of wisdom because when I was here as a student, I was an okay student, but I do not think that I was the sort of student who anybody thought this kid is gonna be asked to talk here 40 years from now and 40 years from now, I'm a little bit shocked to find that I have been, but I have proven to be resilient, and so it is with that in the light, I'm delighted to offer you my words of encouragement on this momentous occasion.

When I was here at Michigan State University, I was a theater major with an emphasis, ah, I love that, in design and acting.

Every once in a while I'm asked about what the journey was like that took me from that to being an animator, and while it never seemed that unusual of a path to me, I do recognize that it seems unexpected to a lot of people.

And how lucky am I to be standing here representing not only you as a fellow Spartan, but a television cartoon that's seen all over the world and in its breadth is a virtual representation of all of the different departments that make up the College of Arts and Letters.

Essentially, "The Simpsons" is a well-written family comedy that over the course of its 35 years, has delved into the changing landscape of the day, and along the way, dealt with the issues of religion and philosophy and even peppered its comedy with the occasional and sometimes obscure reference to classic literature, linguistics, higher mathematics, science, and sometimes wildly accurate if seemingly out of left field predictions, smart watches, David Trump, Donald Trump.

The main tools that I get to employ on a daily basis though are really the ones that I started developing right here on campus, with live drawing sessions at the Kresge Art Center and across the courtyard at Fairchild Theater, where you learn what makes a moment work either dramatically or emotionally or comedically, and that's true, whether it is acted out live or whether it's drawn by hand.

But today, class of 2024, is your day, and you get to go from being a relatively intimate group of fellow students to a much less intimate and considerably larger group of MSU alumni that is over 634,000 people strong, constantly growing, and that constantly growing by this many people just today.

And you get to start your period of hope and uncertainty.

Hope because one phase is done, this particular achievement has been ticked off, and you can start paying those student loans, and now you can move on to the next great phase, and as much elation is associated with this joyous time, it also heralds a lot of uncertainty as well, because what that next great phase is gonna be still consists of a lot of unknowns.

And let's face it, very few of us have our dream job waiting for us upon graduation, and we have to figure out a way to survive in this ever more economically challenging world where we're looking for it.

I feel like I had it a lot easier than you because at the end of the day, I could go through a couple of classrooms and collect 10 soda cans and that would be enough for a cheap meal at McDonald's, and I don't think you have that option, you know?

So now is the time that you're going to really need your creativity and your hope, not to mention, your Spartan work ethic as part of your arsenal to sustain you through these complex times.

There will most certainly be a lot of rough patches, and if you are lucky enough to find a career in the arts, which is largely project based or freelance work, then those rough patches have a way of rearing their ugly heads on a regular basis.

I worked in theater for close to a decade before I moved across country.

It took me a year and a half to get accepted into the animation internship at Warner Brothers.

It took me another year and a half, fortunately, I was mostly employed, but it took me another year and a half to get hired onto the TV series "Futurama", and then I was unemployed for another year and a half before I got work on "The Simpsons", and I took that test three times.

I got turned down twice and I thought I was dead in the water, until a friend who worked on this series, you know, encouraged me to keep trying.

And it was the third time that I finally got accepted.

So you see, persistence does pay.

(audience applauding and cheering) The good thing is if you have to periodically recreate yourself, and we all do in this life as a graduate, you are well trained to generate the kind of creative thinking that you'll need to achieve your goals.

And it's all right if your goals keep evolving over the course of time.

When I was your age, I found myself filling out a lot of applications for a job I have never before considered.

I was intimidated by what skills I had that could possibly be considered transferable.

I worked at the Burger King up here at Frandor, and I thought my theater skills were, when they asked me what my skills were, I thought it was a joke to think what I would be need, what I could use from my experience to be a short order cook.

But the great thing about a degree in the arts is that the skills you acquire are not only transferable, but are essential.

And this is not true just in the more mundane aspects of finding a job and keeping it, but also in being the kind of well-rounded person that other people want to work with.

And more importantly, in making your life better for you, yourself, and the people around you.

The arts are by nature inspirational.

They teach us discipline.

And because the arts are frequently collaborative, we get to work as part of a community to learn about problem solving.

And we are encouraged to think abstractly.

They reflect who we are as human beings and who we are as a society.

They teach us about ourselves and the world we live in, and they act as our cultural ambassadors, letting the rest of the world know who we are as people.

By engaging in the arts, we've been trained to keep our eyes, and ears, and hearts open to each other's stories and to learn empathy for ourselves and for one another.

Now, as you may have heard, we are living in particularly polarizing times where a lot of people hate their neighbors, and empathy feels like a distance, and perhaps naive aspiration.

We can only predict so far the ramifications of the challenges that your generation faces and will have to face.

You have overseas conflicts, climate change, social unrest, loss of civility, changing perceptions of what is truthful and not truthful, what is private and not private, and now is the time that we need the arts more than ever.

I was at a birthday party a couple months back and I was chatting with a stranger who asked me about what I thought about the upcoming elections, and I don't remember what my answer was, honestly, but it was something like, well, I support A, but I see that B has a lot of good points, and I don't particularly like C, but I know a lot of people who do.

And the party guest looked at me, says, do you work in the arts?

And I said, no, why do you think that?

Do you work in the arts?

And he says, no, but it's LA and there's artists all over the place, and I've noticed that a lot of people who out there who see things in very black-and-white terms, but I've noticed that people in the arts tend to, you know, wanna balance off their opinions because they see things in shades of gray and are trying to see both sides of the story.

I thought what a great compliment is that, and maybe that's what the arts do for us.

They help keep that window open to empathy and to train us how to live a compassionate life.

If I may, I'd like to leave you with a couple of insights that I have learned from my 20 years on "The Simpsons", my 30 years in animation.

And while they might be specific to the process of animation, they'll really have their equivalent in whatever your parallel discipline might be.

And like many insights, they may not seem particularly earth shattering in themselves, but as you go through life, even the most fundamental things that you feel like you've always known have a way of revealing themselves as being the most truthful.

And you keep coming back to them like a musician going to their scales or a yoga practitioner finding the intention in their pose.

Find the life, the joy in your life's work.

It'll make the time pass much faster and you'll be much the happier for it.

And if you are on your guard against complacency and work at keeping your choices fresh, you'll probably have the added benefit at becoming pretty good at what you do if you stick with it long enough.

It takes a tribe of people to make a cartoon.

And the tribe's contributions inevitably lead to something stronger and more diverse than what you can achieve if you're working alone, when there are deadlines to be met and every department is jostling all at once to get their piece of it done, the piece of it that they're concerned about, and not necessarily you, whether you like it or not, you have to work together.

And that, like most things in this life, is a lot easier said than done.

But have something to bring to the table, even if it's subject to being changed.

And don't be discouraged by the rejection.

There is no drawing that you do as an individual animator that is not gonna be touched by other hands.

And probably many other hands, someone's gonna be someone else, probably in Korea, is gonna be redrawing your final poses and cleaning them up, getting them ready for camera.

Someone else is gonna be painting them, and someone may actually change your acting because the writers have come up with a better joke, or the producers have found a more dramatic way of pausing a story for three minutes, hoping that you won't change the channel.

Good luck with that one.

And as you go through this life, there will be no end of criticism headed your way, and a lot of it is going to be valid, but there is an axiom in animation that you have to go get all of the bad drawings out of your system before you even start doing the good ones.

And even then, there will be no end of people who will be perfectly happy to tell you online that even though your show has been on the air for 35 years, there hasn't really been a good season of it since number 11.

So you have to be flexible.

In the 20 years I've worked on "The Simpsons", we've gone from working on paper in a studio that had served as a morgue during some war, to working in plush offices, and now we're working remotely on a computer.

Well, we tend to think of life as being linear and whatever our own personal starting point, that is our norm.

Remember how during the pandemic, everybody wanted life to just get back to what was normal, but actually, life is more like a moving carousel that we jump onto and whatever point we jump onto it and get our footing, that becomes our norm.

But norm is, normal is a very relative and largely specious term.

My normal is not your normal.

And the nature of life is to change.

And as our society adapts to new technologies and new ways of thinking, adaptability becomes even more essential.

So take those adaptable skills that have been brewing inside of you, and who knows where the future will take you.

And finally, appreciate the process and live in the now.

There's a lot to be said for looking back on past accomplishments, but it's really in the doing that you find your own true rewards.

You'll find don't be a person who, you know, uses the phrase, yeah, but, as a rationalization for why something wasn't able to be accomplished.

We are faced with obstacles from the day that we are born, and our ability to adapt is certainly a key to our success in this life.

If you worry about too much, about how long it's gonna take to make your cartoon or write your book or finish your painting, or write your thesis or write your commencement speech, then you may not get started.

But if you put one foot in front of the other and don't let the unknowns that inevitably come along paralyze your thinking, the process of creating something and seeing it through to its realization will not only lift you up and give you a sense of your own accomplishment, but you'll surely come out of it much smarter about your craft.

And additionally, your accomplishment becomes your tribe's accomplishment, and everybody's life is lifted up.

And so in conclusion, my fellow alumni, I urge you to go out and find the thing that sings to you.

Be prepared that life has many turns and what sings to you today may very likely morph over the years.

But be true to yourself.

Embrace the winding entangled options that come your way.

And you may very well find that others are inspired by what they consider to be your unexpected and surprising journey.

I urge you to use your expanded empathy to make your world, even if it's just your corner of it, a better place for you and your community.

How lucky we are to be occupying this corner of the earth and that our times here have overlapped.

Good luck.

Go Green.

- [Audience Members] Go White.

- And as Bart Simpson would say, "Don't have a cow, man."

Thank you.

(audience applauding and cheering) - Thank you, Greg.

We shall conclude the ceremony by standing to sing the first stanza of the alma mater, MSU Shadows.

♪ MSU, we love thy shadows ♪ ♪ When twilight silence falls, ♪ ♪ Flushing deep and softly paling ♪ ♪ O'er ivy covered halls ♪ ♪ Beneath the pines we'll gather ♪ ♪ To give our faith so true ♪ ♪ Sing our love for Alma Mater ♪ ♪ And thy praises, MSU ♪ (audience applauding and cheering) - And now we ask our guests to remain in place until the platform party and faculty have recessed.

Thank you very much, and congratulations.

(audience applauding and cheering) (calming music) - [Audience Members] Go White, go White.

Go White, go White.

Go White, go White (calming music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (audience applauding and cheering)