More than 1,300 receive Southeast degrees during two commencement ceremonies

Southeast Missouri State University awarded 1,370 degrees to graduates during two commencement ceremonies Saturday at the Show Me Center in Cape Girardeau.

It was the first year in which Southeast held two commencement ceremonies.

The first commencement ceremony in the morning awarded degrees to the colleges of liberal arts and health and human services. The second in the afternoon recognized students in the colleges of business, science, technology, agriculture and education.

The afternoon keynote speaker, Dr. Julia Ray, offered advice for uneasy university graduates.

Ray, chairwoman of the department of elementary, early and special education at Southeast, began her speech by quoting the song “Dear Younger Me” by MercyMe.

Joan Howe hugs her daughter's friend, Sarah Girardier, before the Southeast Missouri State University spring commencement Saturday at the Show Me Center in Cape Girardeau.Andrew J. Whitaker

Drawing from the song’s message, Ray raised a single question: “What do I wish I had known when I graduated?”

To help solve that question, Ray shared some answers given by recent Southeast alumni.

An alum from 2014 said: “Stop trying to capture every moment on Snapchat and actually live in the moment. There is no filter on Instagram that will look better than the moment in front of you.”

An alum from 2011 said: “Avoid debt and plan long term. Learn about the adult things you don’t understand and take control of them. Adulting is not just a hashtag.”

Louise Bodenheimer’s keynote speech in the morning focused on one word — “yes.”

A graduate gets his degree from Southeast Missouri State University president Carlos Vargas-Aburto during spring commencement Saturday at the Show Me Center in Cape Girardeau.Andrew J. Whitaker

Bodenheimer, a professor of art at Southeast, reminded graduates saying “yes” to new opportunities means embracing the risk of failure and being prepared to adapt to changes.

Bodenheimer advised the graduates to continue their pursuits of new opportunities, which was reinforced during her closing quote from Albert Einstein.

“The ship is always safest at the shore, but that is not what it is built for,” she said.

Lisa Smith, 55, was one of many nontraditional students sailing to higher education in Saturday’s commencement ceremonies.

Smith, a Cape Girardeau resident and an employee of the university’s facilities-management department, began her quest for a degree in 1984. In affixed bright gold lettering, Smith’s cap sent a sparkly message for all to see — “33 year journey!!!”

Jon Snow crossed the graduation stage, sporting a dark red stole around his neck recognizing his military service.

Snow spent four years with the U.S. Army before enrolling at Southeast in 2013. On Saturday, he graduated with a degree in cybersecurity.

For only the 10th time in the university’s history, Southeast awarded inventor and entrepreneur Douglas C. Greene with a honorary doctor of business degree from the college of business.

In his acceptance speech, Greene encouraged graduates to remain confident in themselves and to think outside the box when solving problems.

“The greatest mistake an executive can make,” Greene said, “is to be afraid to make a mistake.”

Southeast named the Douglas C. Greene Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship in his honor in 2011.

A total of 1,036 undergraduate degrees and 334 master’s degrees were awarded Saturday, with 343 of those students graduating with honors: 82 summa cum laude (3.9 to 4.0 cumulative grade-point average); 97 graduating magna cum laude (3.75 to 3.89 cumulative GPA); 163 graduating cum laude (3.5 to 3.74 cumulative GPA) and one student graduating with honors in an associate-degree program.

bmatthews@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3630

Pertinent address:

Show Me Center, 1333 N Sprigg St., Cape Girardeau, Mo.