Portia Williams
A total of 533 Students received degrees from SSU at the Commencement held Saturday.
Portia Williams
PDT Staff Writer
Shawnee State University’s 2013 Commencement was held on the green of the campus Saturday. More than 2,000 people gathered for the ceremony.
The ceremony was conducted with the absence of rain, an element that has been a factor of SSU commencements on a number of occasions and was expected Saturday.
The Processional was conducted by Music Director The Portsmouth Wind Symphony Lee Auer. Matt Rawlings, Associate Pastor of Christ’s Community Church offered the invocation. The Pledge of Allegiance was lead by Aubry Fowler, President of the Student Government Association.
Dr. Rita Rice Morris, SSU President, addressed the graduating class giving them a charge that consisted of the “Three Rs.”
“A college experience requires that you balance your roles, your responsibilities and your relationships. And when you have done that successfully, you end up here, sitting in a folding chair, glad that it’s not raining, in a cap and gown and hopefully leaving graduation with a diploma,” Morris said.
Morris told the group that an excellent education is more than a diploma, or a job or a resume.
“An outstanding education is what allows you to enter a complex world, where you will be prepared to maximize the ‘Three Rs’ you learned here, roles, responsibilities, relationships.”
Morris expounded upon how to execute each component successfully.
“Ultimately, it will be your ability to create and sustain relationships that will be at the heart of your success as a college graduate,” Morris said.
A total of 533 graduates received their degrees at the ceremony on Saturday.
Portia Williams may be reached at 740-353-3101, ext. 286 or portiawilliams@civitasmedia.com. For breaking news, follow Portia on Twitter @ PortiaWillPDT.
Must be all flat belly students?