Michigan State University graduation brings together community one last time

EAST LANSING — A group of Michigan State University friends whose college careers were upended by the pandemic and a mass shooting reunited as students one last time Friday to become forever Spartans.

Thousands stood inside the Breslin Student Events Center during the undergraduate commencement for a moment of silence for the victims of the February shooting that killed Arielle Anderson, Brian Fraser and Alexandria Verner. Their families will accept posthumous bachelor's degrees on their behalf Saturday during individual college ceremonies.

Interim President Teresa Woodruff, before the moment of silence, remarked that the undergraduates have overcome "extraordinary burdens" with the COVID-19 pandemic and the mass shooting that also wounded five other students.

"Those scholars and leaders are forever part of our Spartan community," Woodruff said. "So let us pause here for a moment, a moment of silence to remember them and those working to recover from their injuries and all their things and to acknowledge all those who have been affected."

Just an hour before graduation, Claire McBride and Brooke Zellman gathered just outside the Breslin Center under sunny skies Friday. They started their college careers in the fall of 2019, but the momentum was cut short when the pandemic hit the following March, dorms closed and students were sent home.

"It was really sad because we had just met and we're actually all from that freshman year," McBride said. "So we all kind of were very sad to have to leave each other. But, I mean, we all stayed close, and we made the most of it."

The two Michiganders will join 9,566 other students ages 19 to 77 from 49 states and various countries who are receiving degrees this weekend, Michigan State University announced earlier this week.

McBride is graduating with a bachelor's degree in packaging from the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources. She's moving from Metro Detroit to Minneapolis for a job with General Mills.

Zellman is graduating with a bachelor's degree in supply chain management from the Broad College of Business and is moving from Grand Haven to Chicago for a job with The Hershey Company.

MSU economist Lisa Cook, who is on leave to serve on the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, reminded graduates to expand and cherish their capacities for joy, kindness and hope as they navigate troubled times.

She touched on her family's journey to Michigan from Georgia during the Great Migration, during the early and mid-20th century, when Black people moved north in search of better lives. Her family resettled in Detroit and rose up to executive ranks through their jobs.

"When we talk about what we have overcome — the struggle for civil rights, the madness of a pandemic, the pain and the violence, we should not end any of our stories there," said Cook, the first Black woman to sit on the Federal Reserve. She was nominated to the post by President Joe Biden.

"Michigan State Spartans, class of 2023. You are hope. You are ambassadors of education and community. I feel the hope radiating from you today," she said.

As she ended her speech, she unzipped her gown to show the "Spartan Strong" white T-shirt that the university trademarked and sold to benefit those affected by the mass shooting.

McBride and Zellman remarked on the university's ability to regroup the community after the shooting. McBride called graduation bittersweet with her fellow Spartans gone.

Zellman said those eight students remain in her thoughts.

"The university did a really good job of providing resources and bringing the Spartan community together," she said. "And I think that's something that I love about this college."

Adam Kasumovic graduated with a bachelor's in computer science. He said after the ceremony he was impressed with the lineup of speakers and that he became nostalgic with the band because he played in high school.

He didn't attend with friends as they, like some graduates, preferred college-specific ceremonies.

He'll miss the sprawling campus he has biked with coworkers, the university's video game club, the dorms and the "amazing" on-campus food. Kasumovic was impressed most by Cook's speech and her background because he started college in economics.

"I think she gave an amazing speech, especially foreign economics," he said. "Like, she said she was kind of lowering the bar, but she shouldn't have done that, she's amazing."

Elyse Baden, who's graduating with a degree from James Madison College, addressed her peers and reflected on the "Spartan Strong" motto used around campus in the aftermath of the shooting. She said being at graduation is a testament to that motto.

"As individuals, we will always be bonded as an MSU community, and everything that we have experienced," she said. "I am so proud to be a member of the class of 2023, and finally, I'd like to say, Go Green."

The crowd of now-graduates, faculty, staff and the audience responded: "Go White."

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Contact reporter Krystal Nurse at 517-267-1344 or knurse@lsj.com. Follow her on Twitter @KrystalRNurse.

This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Michigan State University commencement: Spartans' final reunion