Commencement is a special time where faculty, staff, alumni, friends, family and loved ones celebrate the achievements of graduating Spartans. At Michigan State University’s fall semester commencement festivities, held Dec. 16–17, more than 5,000 graduates received their degrees, with more than 190 advanced degree graduates and 240 undergraduates from the Broad College of Business.
Accounting senior Darryl Ervin was chosen by the senior class council to represent the student body and speak at the undergraduate ceremony on Saturday morning. During his senior year, he was selected as one of 25 students selected for the inaugural Lee Elder Internship, an immersive experience at the U.S. Open.
To the Breslin Center audience, Ervin described some of his experience at MSU, having to balance the responsibility of being a first-generation student along with being a husband, a father and a leader of his nonprofit, SLS Detroit.
“I share this part of my story with you all to encourage you as we transition into what society calls the ‘real world.’ I encourage you all to have faith in your future,” he said. “Have faith that your next step is a step in the right direction. Have faith that all the hours of work that you put in put you in the seats that you are in today.”