(indistinct chatter) (attendees applauding) (indistinct chatter) (attendees applauding) (orchestra playing) (attendees applauding) (orchestra continues playing) (attendees applauding) (orchestra continues playing) (attendees applauding) (orchestra continues playing) (attendees applauding) (orchestra continues playing) - Please be seated.

I declare the 54th commencement of Michigan State University's James Madison College now open.

(attendees cheering and applauding) Today, we celebrate the academic accomplishments of our newest Spartan graduates.

We ask that all in attendance are respectful of today's ceremony and adhere to university ordinances and expectations.

We begin our ceremony with the MSU Land Acknowledgement.

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

In particular, the university resides on land ceded 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 those who were forcibly removed from their homelands.

By offering this land acknowledgement, We affirm indigenous sovereignty and will work to hold Michigan State University more accountable to the needs of American Indian and indigenous peoples.

We ask our guests to please rise if able and join with students and faculty and singing "America the Beautiful," accompanied by the MSU College of Music's jazz orchestra directed by University Distinguished Professor Rodney Whitaker and led by Reuben Stump.

♪ O beautiful for spacious skies ♪ ♪ Amber waves of grain ♪ ♪ For purple mountain majesties ♪ ♪ Above the fruited plain ♪ ♪ America ♪ ♪ America ♪ ♪ God shed His grace on thee ♪ ♪ And crown thy good with brotherhood ♪ ♪ From sea to shining sea ♪ (attendees applauding) - Please be seated.

The occasion of this commencement finds us assembled in humble gratitude for our university community of faculty and student body in whom we take justifiable pride.

The most deserving, honored guest present here today are those of you whose constant support and love have sustained the graduates we gather to recognize.

I ask the Class of 2024 to rise and turn toward their parents and loved ones to express the gratitude I know they feel.

(attendees cheering and applauding) While you remain standing, graduates, I ask you now to turn towards those whose special work has been to guide you in your studies, your faculty.

Will the faculty rise and be recognized by these graduates and their families and friends?

(attendees cheering and applauding) I want to thank you for coming out on this day to celebrate the accomplishments of this great group of students.

I know firsthand the great strengths of our college, especially its faculty and staff, but as I've learned in my time at Madison, we are so fortunate to have the kind of students we have and so fortunate to be in a position to teach them at a time when they're coming to exercise their full intellectual gifts and entering adulthood.

On behalf of the faculty and staff, I want to express my gratitude to the parents, grandparents, guardians, and loved ones for trusting us to do this work.

We enjoy this afternoon the presence of some special guests.

JMC alumnus, Bill Beekman will deliver our commencement address.

Ellie Friedman of the Class of 2024 will present the student commencement address.

(attendees cheering and applauding) Other guests participating in this ceremony today are MSU Trustee, the Honorable Kelly Tebay, Professor Olufunmbi Elemo, and Professor Melissa Fore.

(attendees cheering and applauding) Also on the platform to honor this fine graduating class, Associate Deans Linda Racioppi and Robert Brathwaite, (attendees cheering and applauding) Assistant Dean Jeff Judge, (attendees cheering and applauding) Professors Daniel Ahlquist, Yael Aronoff, Kirstin Brathwaite, Gene Burns, Siddharth Chandra, Sejuti Das Gupta, Norman Graham, Louise Jezierski, Linda Sayed, Amy Simon, Susan Stein-Roggenbuck, and Matt Zierler.

(attendees cheering and applauding) We would like to recognize and thank Andrea Cleaver who will be translating for the opening captioning at our ceremony today.

We would also like to recognize and thank the MSU College of Music's Jazz Orchestra for their performances today under the direction of University Distinguished Professor Rodney Whitaker.

(attendees applauding) It is always treat to welcome back our alumni to campus to visit with students and impart the wisdom they have acquired since their days as a student in Case Hall.

This year's speaker didn't have to travel far to return home to Madison as he has spent much of his life working right here for the MSU community.

Bill Beekman is the Vice President for Strategic Initiatives at Michigan State University.

In that role, he leads the implementation of the university's strategic plan and serves as a senior advisor to MSU president.

After earning his bachelor's degree in justice, morality, and constitutional democracy from James Madison, he earned an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern and a law degree from Wayne State University Law School.

Since 1995, Bill has held five unique positions in the president's cabinet, more than any other individual in the university's history, including, in addition to his current role, Acting President, Vice President, and Secretary of the Board of Trustees, Vice President and Director of Intercollegiate Athletics and Executive Director of the MSU Alumni Association.

Bill has also served as senior consultant to the Provost and the Vice President for Finance and Operations, Assistant Dean for Planning and Finance in the College of Human Medicine, an Acting Chief Executive Officer of the University's Medical Practice and Ancillary Medical Operations.

Some of Bill's most significant contributions during his three-year tenure in athletics include balancing the department's budget despite a pandemic-related decrease in revenue of $80 million, developing the department's first long range facilities plan and hiring the department's first director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

In his prior roles, Bill led MSU negotiations with the McLaren Health System to develop a hospital adjacent to campus and with several colleagues negotiated the expansion of the College of Human Medicine to Grand Rapids.

He has taught health policy and health finance in the College of Human Medicine and the College of Law.

In addition to his work at MSU, Bill serves on the Board of Directors of the MSU Federal Credit Union, the world's largest university affiliated credit union since 2013, serving a four-year term as board chair between 2015 and to 2019.

Bill also served as past president of the University Club of Michigan State University and on the boards of the Michigan Finance Authority, the Michigan Humanities Council, and the McLaren Greater Lansing Foundation.

It gives me great pleasure to welcome our keynote speaker, Bill Beekman.

(attendees applauding) - Good afternoon.

Good afternoon, Dean Thies, distinguished faculty, Trustee Tebay, family, friends, and loved ones of the graduates, and most importantly you, the graduates of James Madison College Class of 2024.

(attendees applauding) I am honored to share this day with you.

Graduates, 35 years ago, I sat where you are sitting in this great hall at my James Madison College commencement and the time has literally flown by.

My first two years at Madison, I lived on 6 North in Room 616.

A few weeks into freshman year, I met my future wife who I referred to, at least initially, as the cute girl who lives in 663.

Cindy and I celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary 11 days ago.

(attendees applauding) Since our graduation from MSU way back in 1989, long before you, graduates, were born, Cindy and I have charted a fun, crazy, and completely unpredictable path, a long life's journey I've learned a lot.

Today, I'll share with you a few of those lessons, hoping that one or two of them resonate with you as you embark on your own journey, making contributions and discoveries that are only yours to make.

Lesson one, be willing and prepared to take chances.

It's okay.

I'd argue it's actually important to live at least a little of life outside your comfort zone.

I hired into Michigan State on August 7th, 1995.

Over the ensuing 28 plus years, I've been asked to take on an acting role on five separate occasions.

I've served as the Acting CEO of MSU Healthcare, the Acting Executive Director of the MSU Alumni Association, Acting President of Michigan State, Acting Athletic Director, and most recently Acting Director of University Health and Wellbeing.

In three of those five roles, I was asked to take on that responsibility with only a few days notice.

And most of those roles, at least at the start, were safely outside of my comfort zone.

An example, I was asked to briefly serve as the acting president in the depths of a terrible crisis.

The president resigned.

The Board of Trustees wanted to bring in an external interim president.

But not knowing who that would be, the board asked me to fill in for what ended up being 10 days.

Tensions were high.

The campus community was distraught and exhausted.

I thought to myself, what the hell are you doing and why did you agree to this?

My job was quite simply to try to model calm and stability, to continue putting one foot in front of the other.

Midway through my 10-day presidential term, the board selected an interim president.

The only major event that had occurred under my watch was the resignation of our athletic director.

So on an unseasonably warm Sunday in February, I met the incoming president at Cowles House to share with him my list of priority issues.

Chief among them, the appointment of an acting athletic director.

The incoming president set aside my list of suggestions and asked me to take on the role.

I was completely shocked.

I wouldn't have made the top a hundred names on my list.

But I said to the incoming president, "If that's where you think I can best serve the university, I'm willing to take it on."

Across my many interim roles, I've made my share both of good decisions and decisions that, in retrospect, I have made very differently.

Most of the roles I've taken on are roles for which I perhaps wasn't the obvious choice.

I was an athletic director who was never an athlete, an alumni director who was more introverted than extroverted.

But with each successive role, I've brought greater skills to the table and grew as a leader.

You will make mistakes.

If you don't, you're not trying hard enough and you're not taking chances.

Take those chances.

Take on the new job or assignment that you don't feel quite qualified or ready for.

Learn from it.

Grow.

Keep striving to get better and learn from your mistakes.

Lesson two, have a passion and live it.

For over half my life, I've been blessed to be part of the Michigan State University community.

I get to come to a place every day that has a mission I passionately believe in.

Our public relations people will tell you that we advance knowledge and transform lives, that we help solve the world's thorniest problems, that Spartan's will and all of that is certainly true.

But to me, Michigan State is also something more.

It is a place of opportunity.

From its founding, Michigan State was among the first colleges accessible to working class Americans.

Today, Michigan State, even among its peers, stands at the confluence of access and quality.

And Madison is a great microcosm of that model.

There is no admissions requirement at Madison beyond what the university requires.

If you are accepted to Michigan State, you can join James Madison College.

At the same time, a Madison education stretches the minds of the brightest among us.

Were Madison an independent university, it would have more Rhodes Scholars as a percentage of living alumni than any institution in the United States accepting Harvard at the confluence of access and quality.

Of course, our institution is not perfect.

People are flawed, sometimes deeply, but the power of the idea, the idea of access and opportunity is larger than any of us.

Michigan State isn't its buildings.

It isn't its football or basketball team.

Ultimately, Michigan State is an idea and a promise and a commitment that lives on every day through all of us to fulfill that promise.

Being a part of the Michigan State community, helping create the access to which the moral act aspired while supporting the work of great minds.

Solving seemingly intractable problems is where I find my passion and joy.

You too must find your calling.

It may take some time to figure out how your peace fits into the great puzzle of life, and that's okay.

Explore the universe of opportunity and find a mission you believe in.

Figure out how you can make your corner of the world a better place.

My final lesson for you today is be grateful.

One way I try to express my gratitude to others is by writing personal notes, not emails or texts, honest to goodness handwritten notes.

I try to write at least one note a week, usually a few more.

They're an opportunity to tell another person, I care about you, I'm thinking about you, and I hope you are well.

You have not arrived at this destination alone.

You parents and loved ones, many of whom are seated behind you, have supported you in ways large and small.

Your friends and colleagues seated beside you have done the same.

And the faculty behind me have worked hard to make sure you are prepared.

And for some of you, that task was a bit more herculean than for others.

Don't forget the many people who have been alongside you on this journey.

I challenge you to find a few of them after the ceremony.

Give them a big hug or a hearty handshake and thank them, and then perhaps follow up with a handwritten note.

As you go through life, remember that a smile and a kind word cost you nothing and their impact on the person receiving them may be greater than you think.

There will surely be moments of trepidation as you forge ahead to pursue your dreams.

You will be challenged.

Life can be unfair, sometimes heartbreaking.

You will stumble and occasionally fall, but so often the measure of a person is in the ability to pick oneself up, dust oneself off, and keep fighting the good fight.

In those moments, know that you are well prepared.

You can do it.

You are a Spartan and what's more, you are a Madisonian.

Though I'd enjoy regaling you with the lessons I've learned for the rest of the afternoon, I stand between you and your diplomas and celebrations with family and friends, so I will conclude by asserting that if you prepare yourself to take thoughtful chances, if you live your passion, and if you are grateful for the gifts you've received, you will indeed make our world a better place.

Class of 2024 with Spartan will, go forth and be the change you long to see.

Go green.

(attendees applauding) ♪ Everyday, everyday I have the blues ♪ ♪ Everyday, everyday I have the blues ♪ ♪ When you see me worried baby ♪ ♪ Because it's you I hate to lose ♪ ♪ Nobody loves me, nobody seems to care ♪ ♪ Nobody loves me and nobody seems to care ♪ ♪ Speaking of bad luck and trouble ♪ ♪ You know I had my share ♪ ♪ Pack up my suitcase ♪ ♪ Move in on down the line ♪ ♪ I'm packing up my suitcase ♪ ♪ Move in on down the line ♪ ♪ Where there ain't nobody worried ♪ ♪ And there ain't nobody crying ♪ ♪ Everyday, everyday, everyday I have the blues ♪ ♪ Everyday, everyday, everyday, everyday I have the blues ♪ ♪ When you see me worried baby ♪ ♪ Because it's you I hate to lose ♪ ♪ Nobody loves me, nobody seems to care ♪ ♪ Nobody loves me, nobody seems to care ♪ ♪ Bad luck and trouble ♪ ♪ You know I had my share ♪ ♪ Packing up my suitcase ♪ ♪ Move in on down that crazy line ♪ ♪ Packing up my suitcase ♪ ♪ Move in on down the line ♪ ♪ Ain't nobody worried ♪ ♪ Ain't nobody worried ♪ ♪ And there ain't nobody crying ♪ ♪ Everyday, everyday I have the blues ♪ ♪ Everyday I have the blues ♪ ♪ When you see me worried ♪ ♪ It's you, it's you I hate to lose ♪ ♪ Everyday, everyday, everyday I have the blues ♪ ♪ Everyday, everyday, everyday I have the blues ♪ ♪ When you see me worried baby ♪ ♪ Because it's you I hate to lose ♪ (attendees applauding) - Thank you.

- On behalf of the MSU Board of Trustees, I welcome all the graduates, families, friends who are with us here at this afternoon's undergraduate commencement.

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

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

Certainly no small accomplishment.

For many of you and your families here today, the sacrifices have been long and great.

The degree you have earned acknowledges your success and honors those who have encouraged it.

Our wishes that you'll always be leaders who are generously use your intelligence and your knowledge to improve the quality of life for your community to advance the common good and renew hope in this human spirit.

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

Please accept our warmest congratulations.

Lastly, we wish to pay tribute to graduates who not only completed their academic program successfully, but who have the distinguished of maintaining the highest grade point averages in the class, thereby meriting the Board of Trustees Awards.

To be eligible for this prestigious award, at least 3/4 of the credits for the degree must be earned in residents at Michigan State University.

Will the students who are present, please stand and remain standing as your names are called.

Truman Forbes, who is a comparative cultures and politics, (attendees applauding) James Madison College and also environmental studies and sustainability from the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources and a member of the Honors College.

And Ellie Friedman.

(attendees applauding) Social relations and policy and a member of the Honors College.

Each of you should be very proud of the outstanding academic record that honors you and our university.

On behalf of your classmates, the faculty, the offers, and trustees of the university, sincere congratulations and best wishes.

Please join me in an applause for the class of 2004 Board of Trustees Award recipients.

(attendees applauding) - To the graduating Class of 2024, as you've been reminded, today is a triumph.

Your class holds a special place in MSU history.

You've been liberated from your Zoom rooms and landed here after weathering what must have been a challenging false start to college.

Perhaps more than any other class, you've had to work hard to create cohesion and community.

This year's student commencement speaker, Ellie Friedman, made creating that cohesive community central to every aspect of her college life.

We must start by honoring Ellie for what she's accomplished at MSU.

Ellie was granted the Board of Trustees Award for academic excellence for her four-point GPA.

She was president of MSU Tower Guard, research assistant for the College of Education Right Lab.

She co-authored several scholarly articles and won the grand prize in the University Undergraduate Research and Arts Forum in 2022.

In James Madison College, Ellie served as student senator, was an outstanding writing consultant and 201 TA.

She was voted Social Relations and Policies Outstanding Senior and received the prestigious Michael G. Schechter All University Award for Excellence.

These awards and accolades paint the picture of a dedicated and driven scholar, but let me fill in the gaps and explain how this extraordinary person has worked tirelessly on another project, transforming the culture of James Madison College.

In her senior seminar, Ellie collaborated with five other students on a research project that examined the routines and rituals that build community in JMC.

Professor Jezierski said that Ellie jumped at the chance to reimagine the residential college experience by talking with students, faculty, staff, and alum.

As we all know, Madison has a few myths that swirl around wreaking havoc, especially on first year students who feel unprepared to be in our classes.

Ellie proved to be MythBusters extraordinaire, shepherding hundreds of 111 and 201 students through their daunting first years.

In the Writing Center, Ellie created a space where students experienced relentless kindness and a generous spirit of collaboration where they were excited to participate in scholarly exchanges.

She showed students that supporting each other's learning can feel better than competing with each other.

Ellie's true commitment to transforming JMC culture happened after a revision session when she would mentor students on how to handle double majors across colleges, how to schedule future courses, how to survive a 201 essay exam, and how to chase away the nagging imposter syndrome that incapacitates so many brilliant students.

There are current students who will graduate from JMC because they received Ellie's persistent confidence boosts and her unwavering message to all, you belong here.

Fellow writing consultant Ryan said that Ellie made students comfortable asking for help because her patience and compassion guided every session.

One student who visited the writing center said, "Ellie was more than just a writing consultant.

She was a friend and a mentor who gave me so much comfort when I came in with anxiety about my papers."

After working their shifts, writing consultants would send a message on GroupMe to debrief with the team.

Here's a message from Ellie in November of this year, "Good and busy Monday shift, one student from 270, 6 students from MC 111, 2 from 201 section assignments, and one for resume cover letter review.

A nice group who stuck around all night to work and continue to talk through their feedback."

These students stuck around with Ellie because she fostered a space where they could share ideas, support each other, and learn from each other.

These are the ideals she brought to the entire college and these are the qualities that we all must foster in order to create a living learning environment that lives up to Ellie's expectations.

Thank you, Ellie, for being the best of what Madison can be and urging us to find creative ways to support and care for each other in this vibrant learning environment.

You will now bring those gifts to your own classroom, inspiring the next generation of learners to be as curious, generous, and encouraging as you are.

Please welcome your 2024 James Madison College student commencement speaker, Ellie Friedman.

(attendees applauding) Good afternoon, families, faculty, staff, and fellow graduates.

I'd like to give a special extra welcome to those of us experiencing our first graduation ceremonies because of those 2020 COVID cancellations.

(attendees applauding) This day, doubly special for some of us has been a long time coming.

After a remarkable four years, it's an honor to finally be here in person celebrating altogether.

Since we all nervously shuffled into the Wilson Auditorium, sorry, logged onto Zoom for our first moments together, a lot has happened.

We have challenged ourselves, celebrated successes, and found opportunities and failure.

We have struggled a bit or sometimes a lot, but here we are just a few years later where our divergent paths briefly intersect once again.

My path in JMC has been a lot about mentoring those first year students through JMC's Writing Center and as a teaching assistant for the infamous introductory MC 201 course.

For family and friends who have surely heard the anecdotes but can't keep up with the acronyms, 201 is one of the courses that most JMC students take in the fall of their first year.

If you've experienced this academic rite of passage, you may ask me why I spend my time here subjecting myself to democracy in America or that international case study paper.

We all remember that one, right?

Yeah, repeatedly.

It's because for me, the magic of Madison is best cultivated through interactions between members of our community.

There's just something special about 201's ability to anchor students in JMC academically and bond us together socially.

Getting people excited about what we do here and what all of you have accomplished is pretty thrilling.

In that vein, nervous first year students often look to me for my JMC wisdom.

And all I can do is counter their bouts of imposter syndrome by assuring them that we've all been there, right?

But we're so grateful that we stuck it out.

But I also realized that imagining yourself donning the green cap and gown was nearly impossible until you were here today.

So I've crafted some more practical tips for the students I work with to use along the way.

Hopefully, my three go-to tips, although a bit platitudinal, can remind us how rich and varied yet intimate and similar our Madison journeys have been.

Tip one, you belong here and there isn't a right way to do this.

If you're anything like me, you also quickly realized that your goals from high school didn't hold the same appeal once you experienced college.

It only took me reading "Federalist 51" to understand the ins and outs of the three branches of government and the fact that I wanted no direct involvement in any of them.

(attendees laughing) A lot of us enter JMC assuming that public affairs generates monolithic outcomes, but we're exiting as change makers in a variety of ways.

In this room, we have people using the skills gained in JMC to become data scientists, lawyers, teachers, journalists, community organizers, and librarians.

There's not a singular right path through college or after college.

Something even better transcends our answers to what's next.

We are all relentlessly dedicated human beings anchored in our desire to make the world a better place.

This desire looks different for all of us.

And luckily, every space needs more of JMC's fiery, passionate, and collaborative ethos.

Tip two, JMC isn't about learning how to solve the world's most pressing problems.

It's knowing how to ask the most appropriate questions.

When I work through the first year JMC curriculum with students, I'm always amazed by two truths.

After a JMC class, students dissect content more critically and our minds race to make connections and probe tensions.

However, we have very few tangible solutions to the issues that we study.

Four years ago, this left me super frustrated and I thought that my inability to tie up topics with neat bows meant that I was missing something, but now I know that dissatisfaction allows us to learn the art of action.

Just as I beam with pride watching new JMC students craft tough questions and explore complicated topics, I'm excited to see where a questioning of the status quo and refusal to settle takes us, and I'm sending so much solidarity with my peers today who are showing that.

(attendees applauding) Tip number three, it's all about building relationships.

We won't remember our sophomore year midterm prompts, but we will remember the study break that we took with our co-conspirators to smuggle soft serve toppings from the Case Hall dining hall.

We won't remember which semester we took our methods course or its course code, but we will remember how supported we felt after Jeff Judge turned our question into a four-year plan.

Our experiences have proven time and time again that JMC is special because of its people.

To my Class of 2024, this message is important for us to remember.

I challenge all of you to continue to embrace the sense of belonging.

Even if your journey to feel it because of the pandemic was a little bit rocky, be a part of this community in a way that feels natural and meaningful to you.

Of course, I would be remiss to thank the people who taught us these lessons so that we could pass them on to the next generation of Madisonian.

On behalf of my Class of 2024, thank you to our caring and passionate faculty who exemplify what it means to change the world through meaningful inquiry, action, and knowledge sharing.

(attendees applauding) Thank you to our support systems who have stuck with us through every single unprecedented circumstance.

(attendees applauding) Thank you to the JMC and Case Hall staff who work tirelessly often behind the scenes to make our academic, professional, social and residential lives appear effortless.

(attendees applauding) And most of all, thank you to you, the graduate.

Whether we've shared a moment in a classroom, in the dining hall, or even as identical black boxes on Zoom, I'm grateful our paths have intersected and I am so proud of you.

Again, congratulations, Class of 2024.

Here's to a future filled with promise, with purpose, and with endless possibilities.

Go green.

(attendees cheering and applauding) - Good afternoon, everyone, and congratulations to you and your loved ones on this glorious day.

Class of 2024, it is my honor to stand here with you today on behalf of your faculty.

We have high hopes for you and look forward to hearing about your future endeavors as you leave James Madison College and go out into the broader world.

With that said, part of today's ceremony is also about reflecting on the fourish year period that brought you all to this special moment.

Think back to fall 2020.

You were ready to join James Madison College.

You were excited to study something called Public Affairs.

Maybe you didn't know exactly what that was, but no worries because starting on day one, you were registered to take introduction to the Study of Public Affairs, MC 201.

As a member of your MC 201 teaching team from that year, I'd like for us to briefly walk down memory lane to revisit a few of our guiding questions from that particular class.

First, how do governance and the market shape the development of citizenship?

How are these processes marked by inclusion and exclusion, especially along the lines of gender, race, class, religion, and nationality?

What are the tensions between the promise of equality and democracy and the reality of the violent denial of this promise to some groups?

How have marginalized groups used these contradictions to challenge their exclusion?

Should citizenship necessarily be tied to nationality or once place of origin?

What rights do refugees and economic migrants have once they leave their homes?

And finally, what are the possibilities for regional or even cosmopolitan citizenship, a global citizenship that recognizes all human beings as endowed with rights regardless of their national origins?

Those are big, right?

Well, throughout your time at James Madison College, we have asked you these kinds of vital questions.

The specific questions may differ from major to major, but they share the same essential goals.

We have asked you to think critically about the world and your place in it.

We have asked you to think about how to make the world in which you live more like the world in which you want to live.

Class of 2024, this is the reason why as Madison students, you laugh in the face of ChatGPT.

Seriously (laughs) because you all have spent the last several years developing the skills that will survive artificial intelligence, mental flexibility, resilience, the ability to challenge assumptions, rethink and reinvent.

Part of what makes your experience at Madison so special is that the process of thinking critically doesn't stop once you step out of the classroom.

You've also taken action.

Class of 2024, you've already made your marks here at JMC and on the MSU campus with your thoughtful activism.

You've made meaningful contributions to creating safe, accessible, and inclusive learning environments, and the work continues.

This is the legacy that each one of you contribute to as Madison students and now graduates.

commitment to commitment to service, problem solving, justice, and leaving your corner of the world a little bit better than how you met it.

These are the qualities that you share with almost 60 years of alumni who you now join.

As your teachers, it has been our privilege to help you develop your interests and skills over these years.

It is my sincere hope that you will remember your time here at James Madison and return to us from time to time.

You are the bridges in our Madison community, expanding our network across the US and the world, linking us to new places, new opportunities, and new ways to make an impact.

But bridges operate in both directions, meaning that you'll forever be part of Madison right here in East Lansing.

And as alum, you will always have an integral role to play in the college.

After all, you are the shining example that there is life after MC 201.

Now, with the candidates, please rise.

(attendees cheering and applauding) Dean Thies, Dean Thies on behalf of the faculty, I present to you the candidates for the degree of Bachelor of Arts from James Madison College and Michigan State University.

Congrats.

(attendees cheering and applauding) - On behalf of the President to whom the Board of Trustees has delegated the authority of the State of Michigan invested in the Board, 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.

Jody Knol will announce the names of the graduates as they receive their diplomas.

We ask the audience to be considerate and hold your applause while graduate names are read.

The candidates may come forward to receive their degrees.

(indistinct chatter) - Portia Chana.

(attendees applauding) Truman Forbes.

(attendees applauding) Isabel Borges.

(attendees applauding) Abigail Bies.

(attendees applauding) Maya Hamati.

(attendees applauding) And Elizabeth Kosanke.

(attendees applauding) Lauren Krill.

(attendees applauding) Lily Zuber.

(attendees applauding) Valen Rita Krikor.

(attendees applauding) Dashaunti Natanya Finley.

(attendees applauding) Madeline Claire Morrison.

(attendees applauding) Megan Elizabeth Arline.

(attendees applauding) Noah Gordon Scudder.

(attendees applauding) Ricky John Holdwick.

(attendees applauding) Olivia McKenzie Suki.

(attendees applauding) Serena Zume.

(attendees applauding) Annie Heitmeier.

(attendees applauding) Joshua Andre Dorcely.

(attendees applauding) Logan Lamphier.

(attendees applauding) Theo Van Hof.

(attendees applauding) Travis Clark McGregor.

(attendees applauding) Scott Peyton.

(attendees applauding) Stefan Kobiljak III.

(attendees applauding) Skylar Parpan.

(attendees applauding) Sarah Dennis.

(attendees applauding) Megan Grace Colburn.

(attendees applauding) Michael Judge.

(attendees applauding) Gillian Cyr.

(attendees applauding) Griffin Bilacic.

(attendees applauding) Sam Edwards.

(attendees applauding) Ben Perry.

(attendees applauding) Andrew Robert Schulman.

(attendees applauding) Benjamin Ira Goldstein.

(attendees applauding) Avery Sifuentes.

(attendees applauding) Ethan Leadbetter.

(attendees applauding) Nicholas Zeto.

(attendees applauding) Adam Budiansky.

(attendees applauding) Zoe Mason.

(attendees applauding) Ty Blair.

(attendees applauding) Nialla Stepke (attendees applauding) Erin Mary Pickert.

(attendees applauding) Roxana Steele Richner.

(attendees applauding) oella Rosaida San Juan, (attendees applauding) Grace Frances Norris.

(attendees applauding) Long Chang.

(attendees applauding) Adam Derry.

(attendees applauding) Wesley Welt.

(attendees applauding) Anna Johnson.

(attendees applauding) Alexis Joan Mohney.

(attendees applauding) Chloe Pottenger.

(attendees applauding) Sarah Jozwik.

(attendees applauding) Sarah Mika Shankman.

(attendees applauding) Hayden Larance.

(attendees applauding) Grace Dobie.

(attendees applauding) Cameron Eng.

(attendees applauding) Ariana Laba.

(attendees applauding) Keegan Graham.

(attendees applauding) Ronak Poola Sringari.

(attendees applauding) Keillan Whaley.

(attendees applauding) Ashley Davis.

(attendees applauding) Maura Mustion.

(attendees applauding) Oluwatobi Williams.

(attendees applauding) Alissa Hakim.

(attendees applauding) Noon Bannaga.

(attendees applauding) Joseph Nordan.

(attendees applauding) Carter Bryant McKinney.

(attendees applauding) Joshua Daniel Lake.

(attendees applauding) Rebecca Stokes.

(attendees applauding) Taylor Boulware.

(attendees applauding) Stephanie Adams.

(attendees applauding) Noah Michael Burton.

(attendees applauding) Shannon Uriel.

(attendees applauding) Riley Hurley.

(attendees applauding) Emily Chenard.

(attendees applauding) Jacob Jones.

(attendees applauding) Dea Taipi.

(attendees applauding) Philip Bradbury.

(attendees applauding) Kylie Schmidt.

(attendees applauding) Isha Chincholkar.

(attendees applauding) Lauren Dauber.

(attendees applauding) Jackie Lucille.

(attendees applauding) Celia Murphy.

(attendees applauding) Charlotte Cox.

(attendees applauding) Noah Harvey.

(attendees applauding) Caroline Curtright.

(attendees applauding) Thomas Dolinka.

(attendees applauding) Hannah Faye Nassar.

(attendees applauding) Nolan Rachocki.

(attendees applauding) Leah Bergen.

(attendees applauding) Meghan Vona.

(attendees applauding) Kyle Korte.

(attendees applauding) Ethan Biederman.

(attendees applauding) Anna Elise Rehm.

(attendees applauding) Jared McElroy.

(attendees applauding) Natalie Harmon.

(attendees applauding) Luella Marie Stout.

(attendees applauding) Samantha Grace Zawideh.

(attendees applauding) Ludovica Margiotti.

(attendees applauding) - Adriana Lapham.

(attendees applauding) Wyatt Samuel Owen.

(attendees applauding) Lucas Scott Jorgens.

(attendees applauding) Grace Chiaravalli.

(attendees applauding) Zaynah Arja.

(attendees applauding) Evelyn Trudeau Kuhnlein.

(attendees applauding) Samantha Anne Chambers.

(attendees applauding) Salina Ruth Voegtly.

(attendees applauding) Joe Konczal.

(attendees applauding) Connor Wynn.

(attendees applauding) Daniel Urea.

(attendees applauding) Keegan Chapman.

(attendees applauding) Diego Farah.

(attendees applauding) Maxwell Schryer.

(attendees applauding) Jahaan Nanwani.

(attendees applauding) Alixandria Ashbaugh.

(attendees applauding) Aidan Nelson.

(attendees applauding) Mitchell Mahon Seitz.

(attendees applauding) DA Dulal.

(attendees applauding) Evan Anderson.

(attendees applauding) Maria Amelia Bieciuk.

(attendees applauding) Jordan Mountain.

(attendees applauding) Verena Daniel.

(attendees applauding) Isabella Catherine Elf.

(attendees applauding) Hari Sanil.

(attendees applauding) Jakob Levengood.

(attendees applauding) Colin Naylor.

(attendees applauding) Hannah Worley.

(attendees applauding) Claire Benson.

(attendees applauding) Panayiotis Papadakos.

(attendees applauding) William Everett Knape.

(attendees applauding) Henry James VanderZyden.

(attendees applauding) Ava Rae Keranen.

(attendees applauding) Giovanna Santos Ivanov.

(attendees applauding) Alexis Moskowitz.

(attendees applauding) Sydney Wojczynski.

(attendees applauding) Jaron Krausen.

(attendees applauding) Haleigh Madison Austin.

(attendees applauding) Maren Nicolaysen.

(attendees applauding) Marianna Coelho Uchoa.

(attendees applauding) Emily Hoyumpa.

(attendees applauding) Sujin Lee.

(attendees applauding) Neely Rain Bardwell.

(attendees applauding) Mackenzie Lovell.

(attendees applauding) Zakariya Tahawi.

(attendees applauding) Olivia Le Pera.

(attendees applauding) Ali Sandifer.

(attendees applauding) Margot Hazaël-Massieux.

(attendees applauding) Eliana Kesho.

(attendees applauding) Ethan Fikse.

(attendees applauding) Luke Thiel.

(attendees applauding) Owen Schoenl.

(attendees applauding) - [Attendee] I love You.

- Bahati Keriako-Jura.

(attendees applauding) Brail Lanai Pifus.

(attendees applauding) Tyyler Greene.

(attendees applauding) Gabrielle Marie Faulk.

(attendees applauding) Kendall Nicole Scott.

(attendees applauding) Jordan Roebuck.

(attendees applauding) Devin Taylor Roberts.

(attendees applauding) Evan James Finnbar Thomas.

(attendees applauding) Matthew Douglas Cusmano.

(attendees applauding) Justine Schumaker.

(attendees applauding) Emily Rose Goschka.

(attendees applauding) Elizabeth Kreske.

(attendees applauding) Tara Joy Wagh.

(attendees applauding) Julia Marlene Russell.

(attendees applauding) Nia Michalos.

Adam Cupples.

(attendees applauding) Shelby Galan.

(attendees applauding) Jay Lyon.

(attendees applauding) Spencer James Good.

(attendees applauding) Mena Murrani.

(attendees applauding) Grace Bargerstock.

(attendees applauding) Catherine Chamberlain.

(attendees applauding) Linus Kaechele.

(attendees applauding) Esme Berner.

(attendees applauding) Ellie Franklin.

(attendees applauding) Ava Nicolina Ignash.

(attendees applauding) Brooke Geraghty.

Brenna Noelle Klipfer.

(attendees applauding) Eva Leveckis.

(attendees applauding) Lizzy Richards.

(attendees applauding) Sidney Bernstein.

(attendees applauding) Abraham Frank.

(attendees applauding) Ryan Meister.

(attendees applauding) Ellie Friedman.

(attendees applauding) Madelynn Mae Grant.

(attendees applauding) Anapaola Almaguer-Morales.

(attendees applauding) JD Lancaster.

(attendees applauding) Colin Shepard.

(attendees applauding) Tate Evans.

(attendees applauding) Liam Donahue.

(attendees applauding) Grey Skudlarick.

(attendees applauding) Nicholas Steven Mammel.

(attendees applauding) Eva Zions.

(attendees applauding) Regan Duvall.

(attendees applauding) Casey Getz.

(attendees applauding) Katie Perry.

(attendees applauding) Elena Baldwin.

(attendees applauding) Shaurya Pandya.

(attendees applauding) Jeremiah Dungjen.

(attendees applauding) Sam Gardner.

(attendees applauding) Jesse Watts.

(attendees applauding) Bradley Kepsek.

(attendees applauding) Matthew Anderson.

(attendees applauding) Angelina Rivera.

(attendees applauding) Jacob W. May.

(attendees applauding) Brandon Loy.

(attendees applauding) Peter James Janus III.

(attendees applauding) Ahmed Harajli.

(attendees applauding) - Yeah.

(attendees applauding) - Greetings, Class of 2024.

I think for most of you, this commencement ceremony may be your first as other people have mentioned.

It occurred to me that most of you were seniors in high school when the world, as we knew it, pretty much shut down.

There were many big events in your lives that were altered or didn't occur because of the pandemic.

Not only was your final sendoff from high school different, those of you who began your first year of studies in James Madison probably did so from the bedrooms of your family's homes.

Shifting from high school student to college student have been a very bizarre experience, as well as quite challenging.

When classes resumed in person your second year, we were all wearing masks.

Again, not exactly the easiest way to establish and foster relationships.

And as I think about the academic experiences your class has had, it's actually a bit shocking.

You've certainly earned plenty of merit badges for your endurance and resiliency.

I applaud the tenacity you've demonstrated that has brought you to this moment.

Often we are taught to believe that to be great is to do something that's never been attempted or completed previously.

That greatness is attached to some impressive title, but I don't think that's true.

Greatness juggles everyday hurdles life throws at us and still offers their best effort.

Greatness balances rigorous coursework, employment, the expectations of others, relationships and more.

Sometimes getting through the everyday hurdles is harder than we imagine, but we do it.

We dig deep and we put one foot in front of the other, and each of you has done that.

Today, we celebrate you for what you've achieved, but also for what lies ahead.

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

(attendees cheering and applauding) This act represents the conclusion of a great achievement and marks the beginning of a lifetime of dedicated service.

Congratulations, MSU alumni.

(attendees cheering and applauding) Please rise if able and sing the alma mater with the help of MSU College of Music's Jazz Orchestra.

♪ 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 ♪ (attendees cheering and applauding) - This concludes our ceremony.

You're all welcome to attend JMC's reception at Case Hall immediately following the reception.

To avoid congestion in the main lobby, families and graduates should try to meet up outside.

The faculty will now rise and recess through the Great Hall on the inside of the pillars followed by the graduates.

Audience, I ask you to please remain seated through the entire recessional until the last graduate has exited through the back.

Thank you.

(orchestra playing)