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  • Mountain State University’s 2010 graduating class walks to its seats before the start of the ceremony Saturday at the Beckley-Raleigh County Convention Center. W. Dayton Whittle

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  • Mountain State University President Charles Polk hands MSU valedictorian Connie Gross the 2010 Valedictorian Academic Excellence Award during the ceremony. W. Dayton Whittle

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May 16, 2010

More than 1,000 receive diplomas at ceremony

By Andrea Lannom Register-Herald Reporter

Mountain State University handed out diplomas to more than 1,000 Beckley campus graduates Saturday at the Beckley-Raleigh County Convention Center.

More than 1,350 total students are graduating at all MSU campuses.

During Saturday’s ceremony, a surprise video from Old School Abbey’s Nick Durm was shown, congratulating the class of 2010.

MSU President Charles Polk said his main advice for the graduating class was to “take measured risks.”

“Don’t be afraid to do what others are afraid to do,” he said. “Career decisions are never easy, but if you don’t take a risk, you will never know how much you can accomplish.”

Valedictorian Connie Gross from Clarksburg graduated with a Bachelor of Science in nursing and is employed by the Clarksburg Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. Although she’s not the “typical” college graduate, she says people can take it as a lesson for their success.

“As you can see, I’m not your typical college graduate; I’m quite a bit older than you,” she said. “Learn this from me that you can accomplish your dreams. We take our struggles and realign ourselves so that we can enjoy the fruits of our labor.”

Some students like Heather Ward looked at graduation as a new opportunity but said the event was “bittersweet.”

“I’ve made a lot of friends here and I hate leaving them behind, not knowing if I’ll ever see them again,” Ward said. “It’s a new opportunity, though, because now I’ll be going back home to Pennsylvania to get another degree in chemistry.” 

Other students were a little nervous about life after graduation. Not only were jobs or internships on the minds, but also, furthering their education ranked high on their priority lists.

“I’m not really looking forward to life after graduation,” Nick Lukkarila said. “It’s a happy occasion, but now it’s time to be responsible. I’m hoping to start my internship soon, so I’m thinking about something in forensics and after that I will apply to grad school.” 

Andrea Veldhoff, although excited about graduation at first, says she is sad to leave college life behind and also is nervous about finding a job.

“I still need to do my internship and I’m worried about finding a job afterwards,” she said. “I was looking forward to graduation about a semester ago, but I didn’t realize that once it’s over, it’s over. There’s no going back.”

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Today's Front Page
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