Morehead State University honored nearly 500 graduates at ceremonies Friday.
MSU recognized this academic milestone for students in the presence of family, loved ones, friends, faculty, staff, students and MSU alumni. MSU President Dr. Jay Morgan conferred the degrees and congratulated each student.
The ceremony honored graduates of the Caudill College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences, the Elmer R. Smith College of Business & Technology, the College of Science & Engineering, and the Ernst & Sara Lane Volgenau College of Education.
The ceremonies included the commissioning of ROTC officer Jalen Villarreal (Class of 2024) from Lexington.
Watch the ceremony: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRkdmz0ktu8
During the ceremony, MSU conferred a Doctor of Humane Letters to Director Emeritus Aristófanes Cedeño. Since 1992, he has worked with Kentucky’s Governor’s Scholars Program (GSP). MSU has been a host campus for GSP for 14 years.
Cedeño, a native of Panama, became a U.S. citizen in 2004 and considers Kentucky his home state. He emphasized the importance of graduates recognizing their roots—physical, emotional, intellectual, social, vocational, and spiritual—and the people who helped shape them.
“All those roots don’t come from you only; they come from all the individuals that surround you today here and that have made sure you come to this moment,” he said.
Kaylee Whitaker (Class of 2024) of Whitesburg was the commencement speaker representing the Volgenau College of Education. She is a recipient of the Kentucky Scholar and Alumni Scholarships. As an undergraduate student, Whitaker was a Kappa Delta Sorority member, receiving the Kappa Delta Foundation Scholarship and being named to the Order of Omega Society, which comprises the top 3% of Greek Life juniors and seniors. Whitaker plans to continue her education at MSU as a graduate student and will enroll in the Master of Arts in Education program with a mathematics concentration in Fall 2025.
“The degree you will receive today is not only a representation of your knowledge and education but a testament to your resiliency, perseverance and your determination,” Whitaker said. “When we leave this ceremony, we will be equipped with the knowledge we need to succeed, regardless of the differing paths that we may take. But, perhaps most importantly, we will leave as a culmination of the people and experiences that Morehead State has given us.”
View the gallery: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjBVb64
YouTube highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_sSdGr_nzQI&t=1s
