(Music Playing) Well good afternoon.

How is everyone today?

A time of celebration, right?

Good afternoon and welcome.

My name is Jim Forger.

It's my honor to serve as dean of the Michigan State University College of Music.

And so, on behalf of our faculty and staff, I welcome you to the College of Music Spring 2026 commencement ceremony.

In attendance today, our distinguished guests and speakers, family and friends, faculty and staff, supporters of the College of Music, and of course, our graduates.

We join together to congratulate you graduates on your hard work on the signal initiatives and achievements you have realized during your MSU undergraduate years, which culminate today upon your graduation.

So let's start off asking the class of 2026.

Would you please stand so we can celebrate and applaud you?

We'll have a few other chances to do that today, bu it's nice to start out that way.

We ask our guests to please rise and join with students and faculty in singing America the Beautiful.

Lead by graduating senio Hannah Bancroft with graduating seniors Tyrell Harris and Nisone Brooks.

(Singing and performance of America the Beautiful) Please be seated.

The occasion of this ceremony finds us assembled in a gratitude for a university and college community, for our faculty and student body, in which we take tremendous pride beyond words of celebration and ceremony.

Our program today will appropriately include performances from graduating seniors.

This sampling represent only a small part of the talent within this class.

Each of you have developed and expressed your talents individually and collectively in class, in solo performance, and in ensembles.

This has taken plac both on campus as well as well beyond, through significant outreach and engagement wor in which you have been engaged.

You have become collaborator in the best sense of the word, and we are grateful for the many contributions you have made.

It certainly is appropriate on this occasio to recognize those individuals who have, in large part, made this day possible.

We have in the audience toda those individual whose constant support and love have sustained you during your time at MSU.

So turn around and wave and I will ask the parents, relatives, friends and loved ones of our graduates, please to stand so we can recognize and thank you.

Behind me si a wonderful group of colleagues who have been dedicated to your success.

They have taught, mentored, nurtured, perhaps bugged you in your growth.

Growth as composers, musi educators, performers, scholars, entrepreneurs, and future leaders of your professions and communities.

With the music faculty, pleas stand to receive our recognition and our great appreciation.

Thanks as well to professor Randy Napoleon and MSU Jazz Orchestra one, as well as t the members of the class of 2026 who are providing musical selections as part of our celebration.

I'd also like to acknowledge and thank Sandra Smith, who will be captioning our ceremony today.

Commencement is a time of joy and it marks an important transition.

This transition can also be bittersweet as students move on, leaving friendships and an academic community where you've spent four or more years.

We look forward to keeping in touch with you and celebrating the impac your future of your future work.

As you help to make this world a better place.

Through the power of music, there's also another individua that I would like to recognize with gratitud and appreciation at this point.

There is a colleague who after a wonderful 30 year career at the Detroit Symphon Orchestra and 14 years on this faculty has decided to graduate with the class of 2026.

That would be Professor Corbin Wagner.

We wish you the very best.

Would you please stand so we can recognize and thank you?

Please welcom to the stage graduating seniors Xi Jiang and Amy Wang, who will perform the Hungarian Dance Number one in G minor.

Composed by Johannes Brahms.

(Musical performance) We now have the pleasure of presenting the College of Music Distinguished Alumni Award to our commencement speaker, Kathryn Ginsburg.

Kathryn could you join us at the podium?

Right over here.

Kathryn Ginsburg is vice president and general manager of the world class Detroit Symphony Orchestra.

Her many accomplishment since starting as an operations and artistic coordinator 15 years ago have included operations and pops coordinator, artistic manager and senior director of operations and orchestra manager leading the operations department.

She is the primary administrative liaiso to the members of the orchestra, negotiates musician and stage crew contracts, schedules for the orchestra, season plans, and executes orchestra tours and oversees recording projects.

She oversees digital media live from Orchestra Hall and DSO.

Replay.

The orchestra is free live webcasting and on demand on demand streaming services.

Illustrative of her position as a rising star in orchestral management and leadership.

Miss Ginsburg was selected from a national pool of candidates to be one of six leaders to join the first cohort of the League of American Orchestras and Parsons Leadership Program.

Miss Parsons, as you may know, a 17 year visionary president of the DSO committed to making the DSO the most accessible orchestra on the planet and I think they've done a great job of that.

Miss Ginsburg is a is a committed change agent and leader who works to build an evermore positive culture of collaboration, as well as equity and inclusion in the orchestra field and at the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.

She was named a musical America Top Professional of the year in 2022.

She is dedicated to building deep relationships with arts organizations statewide to broaden the reach of the orchestra through touring and educational residencies.

On a local level, she partners with DSO Community and Learning Department to expand the impact that the orchestra has in the Detroit community and throughout the state of Michigan.

A Spartan, she graduated from the MSU College of Music and the Honors College, Class of 2008 with a Bachelor of Music degre and clarinet performance before completing a master's degre at the University of New Mexico.

Miss Ginsburg began her career in arts administration through internships with the Spoleto Festival USA and New Mexico's Pop Joy Hall, before joining the DSO in recognition of her distinguished professional accomplishments and the promise of her visionary and impactful leadership in the field of orchestral musicianship and leadership.

We are proud to award Kathryn Ginsburg, the Michigan State University College of Music Distinguished Alumni Award.

Congratulations.

And congratulations.

Thank you.

Now you just gave it to her.

Now you just took it away.

Okay.

Please welcome our commencement speaker, Kathryn Ginsburg.

Thank you so much for the introduction.

Dean Forger.

I'm honored to be standing here in front of you today to celebrate the MS College of Music class of 2026.

Congratulations again to all of you.

When Dean Forger called me about the opportunity to speak today, I immediately thought back to my own graduation, the first that the college of Music held independently from the College of Arts and Letters, and the first that I ha attended here in Wharton Center.

Like many of you I'm guessing I had played quite a few commencement ceremonies with Symphony Band and Wind Symphony over my four years at MSU, so I figured that I knew what to expect.

But then I found out that we had to process down the stair at Wharton in front of everyone, and that unlock my number one commencement fear that I would be the one to trip and cause human dominoes right at the beginning of commencement.

And that would be the start to my post-college career.

Needless to say, I made it down the stairs, and I honestly don't remember much else besides the relief of getting through the processional.

So, class of 2026, congratulations.

You did it.

Not only did you graduate fro this incredible music program, but you two managed to make it into Wharton in one piece.

I also remember the uncertainty of what was next for me, and in some ways, I felt like I knew even less about what I wanted to do when I graduated than I did at the start of undergrad.

I started at MSU knowing that I loved to play the clarinet.

I loved making music especially in large ensembles, and I loved the people who I met through music.

So while I understood the challenges of a performance degree, it felt like the obvious next step for me.

In those four years, had some really incredible music musical opportunities, from studying abroad with the clarinet studio in Italy to playing at the Midwest Conference with Wind Symphony, to getting my first arts admin job without realizing it, working in the band library.

But the part that stands out to me about those experiences now isn't the performances, but the people that I met an the relationships that I built.

I remember having a rehearsal at a high school in one of the Chicago suburbs a day or so before the Midwest concert, and then staying with one of the band families from that school.

Something about that quick stop was inspiring enough to me that I realized I might like to work in a role that brings music to people.

I truly didn' know that arts admin was a pass, and hadn't ever give any thought to what must happen behind the scene to produce concerts or events.

And then I met Ted.

Ted Owen, the former principal clarinetist of the Detroit Symphony spent one year teaching at MSU, and I was lucky enough to stud with him for my final semester.

In between learning excerpt and preparing for my grad school auditions, I admitted to him that I pretty suddenly was feeling uncertai around a career in performance.

He listened as I tried to explain the kind of work that I wanted to do, and reassured me that there is a whole industry that I had no idea about.

Ted gave me resources, told me about the people he worked with off stage at the DSO, and as some colleagues at the DSO for internship recommendations for me to explore.

I'm eternally grateful to Ted for teaching me what it looks like to support a student and to guide me not just in my clarinet playing, but also my career goals.

Ted retired from the DSO over a decade ago, and he probably has no idea the impact he had on my life or my career but I still think of him often.

Ultimately I decided to go to grad school.

I wasn't ready to give up playing clarinet full time, and I wanted to give myself time to gain some internship experience in the arts.

After completing my master' degree and several internships, I knew what I wanted to do.

I was going to run the education department of an orchestra someday.

Little did I know, I didn' quite have it figured out yet.

I took my first job at the DSO in the Artistic Operations department.

About a year later.

It wasn't exactly what I wanted to be doing, but I figured that onc I was inside the organization, I could move over to the Education Department.

When a position opened up.

I never did end up expressing interest in or applying for any of those roles, because I found that what I loved the most was working with the musicians.

My first day at the DSO, I was introduced onstage to the orchestra.

Have any of you ever experienced imposter syndrome?

Yeah.

Me too.

It was intimidating to be in front of the ensembl that I had admired for so long.

But then I saw Ted encouraging me from his seat in the clarinet section, and I remembere that this is where I should be.

It took me until years later, when I was working with a cohort of incredibly accomplished women in the orchestra industry, to understand that almost everyone experiences imposter syndrome.

The more we talked about it the more comfortable I became.

Dismissin those self-sabotaging thoughts.

I really wish I had realized that everyone is just figuring it out as they go much sooner.

So take a minute right now to look around this room and find somebody that you can call.

If you ever find yoursel in an imposter syndrome spiral.

Support one another when you get that call.

Remind each other that you are where you are supposed to be, and that you deserv the opportunities that you get.

Once I was settled in at the DSO, I spent my first several years getting to know the people and the culture of the organization, and I worked har to prove myself and demonstrate my attention to detail throug some perfectionist tendencies.

We'll come back to that later.

I couldn't have told yo what orchestra operations meant when I took my first job.

And yet, within a few years, I was the Director of operations.

The logistical side of my role allowed me to plan tours to Florida, Interlochen, Japan, and China and travel with the orchestra, learn the contract, and get to know everyone both on and off the stage.

It wasn't all as exciting or straightforward as I'm making the sound.

Of course, as your professors in the orchestra can confirm.

We had some significan challenges to tackle together, including our sudden in-person halt during the pandemic.

And on a personal side the premature birth of my twins during the Asia tour, planning, I realized very quickly while responding to emails from the nCCU that I couldn't do it all.

Something that I too pride in earlier in my career.

This was an expectation that I placed on myself without even realizing I was doing it.

And I had to quickly lear how to trust my team and let go.

The support I received during that time was incredible.

Nothing fell apart and the team was stronger and better cross-trained.

When I came back from leave.

And most importantly, relationships and trust deepened.

I remind myself of the pure insanity of those few months.

Now, when things feel chaotic.

And as I say to my now nine year old twins, we can do hard things.

Especially when we lean on each other for support.

We made it through this year.

Then the pandemic.

And shortly after, I became the general manager of the orchestra.

I'm now several years into my current role and still learning from everyone around me.

One thin that has really stood out to me is that the perfectionism that I was so proud of early in my career hasn't ever served me in the way that I thought.

We are all trained to play well, to win auditions and to fake it until we make it.

But I was exhausted and gradually started liking, letting go of perfectionism.

I spoke with several of our musicians about it recently, and realized that I, and many others, conflate the idea of excellence with perfection.

Being excellent is imperfect, and that's okay.

There is no perfect audition, perfect resume, or perfect colleague.

I now aim to lead with excellence and authenticity.

I have learned that authenticity can also mean asking for help and admitting I'm unsure of what is next.

Similarly, being a good colleague isn't actually about being perfect.

It's knowing your limits, working within your strengths, and building trust.

To all of you who know what's next.

Whether it's performance, music, therapy, education, or anything else.

Go for it and change the world.

And to all of you who don't know what's next.

I hope you are able to see this moment as an opportunity.

You likely came to music school because you were good at your instrument, and you enjoyed performing.

But you are so much more than that.

You have so many skills that you may not even realize that you have yet.

So stay curious.

It's okay if your plans change.

Mine certainly did.

And don't be afraid to ask each other for help, support, resources, or a pep talk.

It's a sign of authenticity and trust and not a weakness.

If you had told me 18 years ag when I was sitting right where you are today, that I would b the general manager of the DSO and delivering the commencement address today, I probably would have laughed in your face, and I certainly wouldn't have known the steps to take to get me here.

Remember that as you figure out what is next.

Stay open.

Stay curious and stay connected.

Life can be scary and hard, and you might feel that imposter syndrome creep out once in a while.

But know that out of the hard things comes the magic and the growth.

So take that first step and remember that MSU will always be here for you, to offer you support and to push you to do things you never imagined.

Maybe 18 years from now.

One of you who least expects it will be up here telling your story.

And I can't wait to hear to hear it.

Congratulations to the class of 2026.

Go!

Green.

White wine.

Thank you.

Kathryn Ginsburg.

Pleas welcome the MSU Jazz Orchestra.

One conducted by associate Director of Jazz Studies professor Randy Napoleon.

As they perform a Rodney Whitaker composition for Langston.

Arranged by Jason Hainsworth.

(Musical performance) Thank you.

Jazz orchestra one I would like to introduce members of the platform part who do not have a speaking role.

Actually, there's just one.

But he's an important one.

An individual who has supported many colleges in numerous endowments and has been a special, support to the College of Music.

Would you join me in thanking and welcoming Doctor James Billman?

We are honored that MSU Trustee Kelly Tebay, chair of the MSU Board of Trustees, has chosen to join us at the ceremony today.

She was firs elected to the board of trustees for an eight year ter that began on January 1st nine, 2019 and has just been reelected to a second eight year term.

Would you please welcome the Honorable Kelly Tebay?

Thank you.

Dean Forger on behalf of the MSU Board of Trustees, I welcome all of our graduates, their families and friends who are here with us at this afternoon's, undergraduate commencement.

I go to a lot of graduations and I tell Dean this every year.

The music one is my favorite.

So thank you all for putting on amazing performances every year.

I appreciate it.

Under the Constitution, the Board of Trustees is the governing body of the university by whos authority degrees are awarded.

Today's ceremony represent the culmination of discipline, intellectual work, and creative imagination.

Certainly no small accomplishment for many of you and your families here today.

The successes have been long and sacrifices.

Great.

The degrees you have earned acknowledges your success, and it honors those who encourage it.

Our wish is that you always be leaders who generously use your intelligence and your knowledge to improve the quality of life of your community, to advance the common good, and to renew the hope in human spirit.

Our faculty, administrators, and the MSU trustees are all very proud of you.

Please accept our warmes congratulations and best wishes.

Go green.

Please welcom to the stage graduating seniors Olivia Borsnick, and Colin Mile with Ameer Chaudhry and Jack Mulrooney, who will be performing Molly on the shore, composed by Percy Granger and arranged by Aaron Meisner.

(Musical performance) Good afternoon.

I'm Guy Yehuda, associate professor of clarinet and chair of the woodwind area in the applied area and othe areas of the College of Music.

We professors have the unique experience to work closely every week with our students for four years.

It is always wonderful to see how each one of our students grow musically throughout their time at MSU.

Class after class, we get the chance to meet unique, artistic and resilient young people people who will continue to shape this world and make it a better place.

And we need that desperately.

Olivia is one of these unique people.

Olivia, is truly a well-rounded student, intellectually curious, highly motivated, and always eager to explore new ideas especially in music and beyond.

She always brought the genuin love of learning to everything she did.

Never choosing the easy path, but instead embracing challenges with determination and discipline.

I witnessed her growth as a young clarinetist and musician with pride, as she relentlessly plowed her way through the challenging velocity clarinet techniques studies to the subtlet of phrasing a Stanford Sonata.

What truly set Olivia apart was her dedication, not only to her own progress, but to those around her.

She was always an active and supportive member of the Clarinet studio, consistently contributing to a positiv and collaborative environment.

Her peers respect and appreciate her, and she's someone we can always count on to step up and help, whether in the studi or across the college of Music.

Olivia embodie both excellence and character, and we are proud to have her represent the class of 2026.

Please join me in welcoming our students.

Speaker Olivia Borsnick.

Good afternoon.

Thank you to all of our friends, family and faculty for being here to celebrate this incredible milestone and recognize all of the hard work our graduating students have done over the past several years.

I'm also very extremely grateful to my friends and peers for granting m the privilege of speaking today.

The students sitting in front o you have, without a doubt been the greatest part of my college experience, and I'm sure many of them feel the same way as well.

The lifelong community that we have created is something that I believe sets MSU apart from other universities.

And I would like to use the time I've been given in front of you to talk about the student that are sitting in front of me.

Leading up to today, I've realized how amazing it is that I've gotten to watch all of us grow from young students fresh out of high school and barely adults to talented, mature and kind people.

I've been reminiscing on some of my favorite memories with you all.

Like some of us finding the fountain of our freshman year dorm filled with soap and overflowing with suds and almost getting blamed for it, or teaching my out-of-state friends.

UCA sophomore year, despite all of their frustrations with the dumb rules.

The memory from junior year of a Texan driving some of u to the Michigan Music Conference after a huge snowstorm and almost spinning off the highway, is burned into my memory.

But for the record, we're all okay.

In fact, I'm still creating memories like going on a mini studio ski trip and teaching somebody from a state without snow how to maneuver on skis.

As our time at MSU comes to a close.

I hope that you all have had the opportunity to remember moments like this of your own.

MSU has clearly left a huge impression on me, so I did some contemplating on how I and how we all have left our mark on MSU.

Now, literally speaking, ther may or may not be a framed photo of some of us up in a dining hall somewhere.

But beyond that, I have personally seen the effort and passions of my peers change.

The College of Music.

I've watched them advocat for things they believe in, like class curriculum or the live streaming of concerts.

I've watched them be strong and hold their peers up when they were at their lowest, but also be vulnerable and form true bonds.

These students have very high expectations for themselves, and I believe tha they've been great role models and have set the standard for future students in the College of Music.

In addition to the students, we also have amazing faculty and staff members who have supported u along every step of our journey.

I used to believe that I was not cut out to be a performer, but thanks to their dedication and maybe a couple of teary eyed conversations, my confidence, knowledge and skill has grown exponentially.

I'm sure the students all feel the same way.

I want to especially thank my professor, Doctor Yehuda for countless lessons and lots of advice, and also my ensemble director Doctor Golden, Doctor Thornton, and Doctor set at all for their unwavering support of my efforts to become a musician and a teacher.

The faculty and staff go way beyond their duties as professors as well.

Through interactions I've had with them in the office, at their recitals, or even just passing in the hallway.

I have learned how kind and friendly they all are.

They make the College of Music a very warm and welcoming environment.

On behalf of the graduating class, I would love to thank all of the faculty and staff for everything they have give us over the past several years.

Yeah, yeah.

I think it is evident that MSU has provided us with incredible opportunities and resources ranging from talented professors to internships, extraordinary performance opportunities, guest artists, mental and physical health resources, and so much more.

One of the things I'm most thankful for is the community that I became a part of, and will take with me past graduation.

I would not be up here right now if it wasn't for the support of my friends.

They have gone ice cream with me on bad days.

They've covered for me at work when I double booked myself.

They've picked me up from campus when I missed the bus.

Have taught me drum set when I had absolutely no idea what I was doing.

And I've even taught band camps with me.

Also, as I watch thei final recitals and performances, I was reminded of how talented they have become at what they do.

I watched people play secondary instruments on their recitals and absolutely shred on them.

I've seen them invite 20 plu people up on stage as an encore.

I've watched my peers sing and play with so much emotion and musicality that I was moved to tears.

One of my peers worked very hard to revive a chapter of one of our music fraternities.

Another does sound productio for many college music events, and one takes ours out of every weekend to work at the community music School in Detroit.

Many of my friends are also continuing on to grad school.

This time is graduate assistants and I wish them nothing but the best.

Our students have such a wide range of skills and passions, and because of this, I know the Spartan community will have my back no matter where I go or what I do.

Students, turn and look at your friends and family behind you.

Now look at your teachers up here.

And finally, look at the people sitting next to you.

I know that all of them would be more than happy to help you when you are in need, and I encourage you to keep all of these people in mind wherever you go and whatever you do.

Yes, this time may be sad for many of us, but I encourage you to look forward to what is coming next.

While this is the end of one thing, it is also the beginning of all of our next chapters.

I know that change and the unknown can be scary, but I also know that we are all more than capable of handling whatever is thrown at us, and that we all hav very bright futures ahead of us.

Thank you for creating such a wonderful environment to be in every single day.

Thank yo for being my biggest supporters and thank you for being such a wonderful family.

Go green.

Good afternoon.

I'm Dere Fox, associate dean of graduate studies research and creative endeavors.

Would you now welcome to the stage graduating senior Calvin Fund with Taden Barks Bowman, Tyrion Cooper Tiang Un Xin, and Aaron Lunguski, who will perform Allegro from the Trumpet Concerto in E-fla major, composed by Joseph Haydn.

(Musical performance) We now take the opportunit to present some special awards.

We have the pleasure of awarding the Dortha J and John D Withrow Excellence and Teaching Award.

Today.

This endowed awar is given annually, based on peer review to exceptional members of the MSU College of Music faculty who have rendered distinguished service to the University and the student body through excellence and instructional performance and or scholarly activities.

I am pleased to present this year's recipient, Derek Palaszczuk, with this pylon and cash stipend.

Congratulations, Derek.

Good afternoon.

I'm Michael Croth, associat dean for undergraduate studies in the April Board of Trustees meeting.

320 students from all graduating seniors were recognized with Board of Trustees awards for having the highest cumulative scholarly records by the close of the preceding semester.

I would like to recognize Taryn Perry and Eli Rockliff, who are recipients of the 2026 Board of Trustees Award.

Taryn and Eli please stand to be recognized.

Students who attain a grade point average of 3.98 and higher are awarded University High Honor.

University honor is awarded to students who have earned a grade point average of 3.88 to 3.97.

The multicolored cord and gol cord added to the academic robes designates these honors with all students who are graduating with high honor and with honor.

Please stan and accept our congratulations.

Student who participate in and fulfill the requirements of the Honors College by completing enriched programs of study, are identified as graduating with Honors College Distinction.

These graduates wear a white collar style with the HC designation.

With those students who are graduating as members of the Honors College, please stand and be recognized.

The College of Music Outstanding Senior Award honors one graduating student who has been nominated by the faculty and selecte by the Undergraduate Committee.

Following a thorough review of materials.

The recipient of the 2026 College of Music Outstanding Senior Award is Eli Rocklin.

Eli, would you please join me at the podium?

Congratulations.

In recognition of Michigan State University's ongoing commitment to education abroad.

I ask all student who participated in an education abroad program while here at MSU to please stand and be recognized.

Many college music students give their time and talents to important outreach and engagement activities.

These have include participation in the college's Beacon Hill Concert Series, sensory friendly concerts, educational engagement, residency programs, and early childhood classe at the Community Music School, among many other programs, with those students graduating who have participated in community outreach activities.

Please stand and be recognized.

Would you please welcome to the stage graduating seniors Kryst Bennett, Hannah Bancroft, Alexia Clark, Grace Cox, Shayna Gibson, Ryan Byrne, Ryan Jordan, Ethan Staver, Tyrell Harris, RJ Kilcher, Nicholas Perkins and pianist Nisha Brooks as they perform Michigan Morn, composed by H. Owen Reed.

(Singing and musical performance) And a huge round of applause for our associates.

Moving pianos and facilitating all the performances.

Thank you all.

At this time, we shall begin the conferral of the baccalaureate degree upon candidates from the major disciplines of the College of Music.

I will now ask the area chairpersons and distinguished colleagues to come forward and read the names of the graduates.

I am pleased first to introduce Kara Stroud, chair of the Music Theory Area.

Will the candidates for the Bachelor of Arts degree in music.

Please come forward.

(Conferral of degrees reading graduate names) I'm pleased to introduce to my colleague David Beiden-Bender, chair of Composition.

Will the candidates for the Bachelor of Music degree in composition please come forward?

(Conferral of degrees reading graduate names) I am pleased to introduce my colleague, Randy Napoleon, associate director of Jazz studies.

Will the candidates for the Bachelor of Music degree in jazz Studies please come forward?

(Conferral of degrees reading graduate names) I am pleased to introduce my colleague, Ryan Shaw, chair of music education.

Will the candidates for the Bachelor of Music degree in musi education please come forward?

(Conferral of degrees reading graduate names) I'm pleased to introduce my colleague Deborah Moriarty, chair of the piano area.

Well, the candidates for the Bachelor of Music degree in music performance.

Please come forward.

(Conferral of degrees reading graduate names) We will now confer degrees.

I ask the degree candidate to please stand and ask Trustee Tebay to join me at the podium.

On behalf of President Guskiewicz, who has delegated to me 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.

I now ask each of you to move your tassel from the right side of your cap to the left side, signifying your admission to the community of scholars.

Congratulations.

Welcome, MSU alumni joining a group of 500,000 strong lights to network with.

Congratulations again.

One more round of applause for these graduates.

I now invite all to rise and sing both verses of the alma mater, le by graduating senior RJ Kilcher, with graduating senior Rya Byrne and pianist Yasir Brooks.

Lyrics can be found on your handout.

Following the alma mater and the MSU fight song, we ask that the audience be seated until the platform party faculty and graduates have recessed.

(Singing and performance of MSU Alma Mater) (MSU Fight Song performance)