For the first time since the fall of 2019, Mississippi Valley State University’s students got a chance to celebrate their graduation day in person Saturday.
Gathered at Rice-Totten Stadium, members of the Class of 2021 stepped on a stage placed in the center of MVSU’s football field to receive their diplomas during the university’s 69th commencement ceremony. Their friends and family watched from the stands.
There were still restrictions put in place in light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, including the use of masks and social distancing. The chance, though, to celebrate in person was a welcome change, considering the previous two graduation ceremonies — in the spring and fall of 2020 — were held online.
“This opportunity is special,” Dr. Jerryl Briggs, MVSU’s president, told the graduates during the ceremony. He added that MVSU is “second to none, and it’s only second to none because of everyone here today.”
Ledereck Norals of Greenwood, a MVSU cum laude undergraduate who received a bachelor’s degree in health, physical education and recreation, said, “I enjoyed today. I’m glad it wasn’t virtual.”
Ledereck Norals, who earned his bachelor’s degree in health, physical education and recreation, celebrates his graduation Saturday with his friend, Edwin Gray. (Photo by Andy Lo)
With a smile, he added that he was happy to “walk the stage.”
Norals said he’d like to go into teaching, ideally somewhere in a large city with decent traffic that would also be a good fit for a tow truck company that he’d like to start.
He was one of more than 180 MVSU students who graduated Saturday — 70 of whom were graduate students and the rest undergraduates.
In addition, about 30 graduates from the classes of 1970 and 1971, who were dressed in bright gold gowns, were at Saturday’s ceremony to celebrate their 50th — or golden — anniversary.
Standing with his family following the ceremony, Forest Kimbrough Jr. of Greenwood was happy to graduate with a bachelor’s degree in music education.
“I feel great. It’s a huge completion, one of the best memories of my life,” he said.
Kimbrough said he plans to go to Florida State University to earn his master’s degree in music therapy. He plans to eventually work at a hospital, where he will help the elderly and disabled through music therapy.
His mother, Angela Kimbrough, an attorney in Greenwood, was beaming at her son with pride.
“When I graduated from law school, he was 2 and said, ‘Look at my mom,’” she said. “Today I look at my son, and I’m proud of him.”
Allen Mills, who is from St. Louis, received his bachelor’s degree in mathematics.
“I liked the in-person (ceremony). It was exciting,” he said. “God blessed us all.”
Allen Mills, second from left, who received a bachelor’s degree in math, celebrates his graduation Saturday with friends and family. From left are Curtis Moore, Mills, Kim Burns and Amanda Mills. (Photo by Andy Lo)
He said he’s debating whether to pursue a master’s degree in accounting or move back to Missouri to teach.
Greenwood resident LaTressia Ware, who received her master’s degree in education, was standing with her husband and two sons, enjoying herself.
“I was glad we were able to have it in person,” Ware said of the ceremony.
LaTressia Ware of Greenwood, right, who graduated Saturday with a master’s degree in education from Mississippi Valley State University, enjoys herself with her family following MVSU’s graduation ceremony. From left are JaCoby Williams Jr. and JaCoby Williams Sr. and Jeric Williams. (Photo by Andy Lo)
A seventh grade science teacher at Greenwood Middle School, Ware had balanced school and work at the same time. She said she’s now planning on finding a specialist program in order to go into special education.
For Clarksdale resident Cynthia Ann Watson Tyler, Saturday’s graduation was particularly special.
She graduated and received her bachelor’s degree in business administration alongside her grandson, JaCorian Dandrell Tyler, also of Clarksdale, who graduated with a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice.
Cynthia Ann Watson Tyler shows off her diploma. She graduated Saturday from MVSU with a bachelor’s degree in business administration. (Photo by Andy Lo)
Both excited and nervous, Cynthia Tyler said she didn’t sleep well the night prior to graduation.
“To me, it was a blessing to be with my grandson, to graduate with him,” she said. “It was a milestone for us.”
She said she will continue to work in her current role as a bookkeeper for the Clarksdale Municipal School District’s Child Nutrition Department.
During Saturday’s ceremony, Dr. Thomas Calhoun Jr., vice president for enrollment management and student affairs at MVSU, gave the graduates four pieces of advice.
Dr. Thomas Calhoun Jr., vice president for enrollment management and student affairs at MVSU, speaks to MVSU’s graduates during the university’s commencement ceremony Saturday. (Photo by Andy Lo)
First, he told the graduates that “it’s all right to say ‘Thank you’ now and then,” since all of them had received help at some point in their lives.
Secondly, he told the graduates that how they carry themselves “makes a difference in the lives of people watching you.”
Thirdly, he recommended that they reach out to any MVSU students who have never completed their studies and encourage those students to finish their degrees.
Lastly, he concluded with a quote from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. — “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is: ‘What are you doing for others?’”
“Go out, change the world (and) congratulations to you this day,” Calhoun said.
- Contact Gerard Edic at 581-7239 or gedic@gwcommonwealth.com.
