Congratulations to the newest SEMO graduates

About 850 people will have something extra to celebrate this holiday season -- receiving a degree from Southeast Missouri State University at the school's fall commencement ceremonies Saturday, Dec. 16.

Of the group, 580 will receive undergraduate degrees, 267 master's degrees and nine specialist degrees.

Many students earned high academic honors. Sixteen students will graduate from the Honors Program. Fifty-six students earned summa cum laude honors (3.9 to 4.0 cumulative grade point average), while 61 earned magna cum laude (3.75 to 3.89 GPA) and 109 earned cum laude (3.5 to 3.74 GPA). One hundred-nineteen students (24 undergraduates and 95 graduates) earned a perfect 4.0 GPA.

Those are impressive accomplishments.

Earning a college degree of any type is no small task. It takes a lengthy commitment of time and resources. The stick-to-it nature of earning a degree will help students later as they pursue careers.

Beyond the nuts and bolts of completing tasks associated with particular coursework, higher education presents opportunities for students to learn for learning's sake, grow in their personal life and develop their potential for whatever comes next. We often equate education with employment, but learning has higher purposes, too.

Our advice to the graduates is simple: Never stop learning. Remain curious. Seek answers with a mind open to new ideas.

SEMO's fall commencement will include two ceremonies at the Show Me Center in Cape Girardeau -- 10 a.m. for students of Harrison College of Business and Computing, College of Humanities and Social Sciences and Holland College of Arts and Media and 2 p.m. for students of College of Education, Health and Human Studies and College of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.

Michelle Kilburn -- professor with the Department of Criminal Justice, Social Work and Sociology -- will serve as the commencement speaker in the 10 a.m. ceremony, while R. Larry Bohannon -- professor in the Department of Elementary, Early and Special Education -- will speak at the 2 p.m. ceremony.

Congratulations to all the graduates, and thanks to all those who provide a safe, welcoming and robust environment for our SEMO students!