First commencement held for members of CSU Stanislaus’ Class of 2015

The first of three Class of 2015 commencements was held this morning at California State University, Stanislaus. Under a clear sky and an occasional cooling breeze, family and friends gathered as graduates from the university’s colleges of business administration and science crossed the stage.

Between today and Friday, 2,068 students will receive bachelor’s degrees and 449 will receive master’s degrees and doctorates.

Looking out at his students, university President Joseph F. Sheley noted that students from roughly 300 communities in California and beyond make up the Class of 2015. But no matter how different the places they come from and the paths they took to the university, he encouraged them to look at how much they share at this time and to identify themselves proudly as CSU Stanislaus grads.

“The region comes together here to speak with one voice about the pride we have and the hope we place in our graduates,” he said.

He commended those students who cared for families while attending college, or worked one or more jobs. And to all students, he said, “You’ve worked hard, put in all-nighters, drunk way too much coffee – or whatever.” Through it all, “you stayed focused on the prize ... that no one ever can take away from you. How does this sound? You are a college graduate.”

He asked students how many of them are the first in their families to get a university degree, and it appeared a majority stood. That’s something he shares with them, said Sheley, who graduated from California State University, Sacramento. His parents couldn’t afford to send their children to universities, he said, and college might have been out of reach for him had it not been for the CSU system.

Among others to address the class was student speaker Elita McFadden, graduating with a bachelor of arts in psychology. Standing before classmates, she said all the studying and the caffeine and the lack of sleep seems worthwhile now. “This moment felt so distant when registering for classes seemed like we were competing in ‘The Hunger Games,’ when rushing to class after just finishing that paper you procrastinated on and especially after seeing how long you could survive on just Top Ramen and a few dollars.”

Students in doctoral, master’s and credential programs were to have their commencement today at 6 p.m.

Commencement for students in the College of the Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences and the College of Education, Kinesiology & Social Work will be at 9:30 a.m. Friday.

To learn more, go to www.csustan.edu/commencement.

This story was originally published May 28, 2015 at 12:26 PM with the headline "First commencement held for members of CSU Stanislaus’ Class of 2015."