Nov 22
May 12, 2022
Lake Superior State University celebrated 387 new graduates along with their families and friends at the 60th annual commencement held on May 7, 2022. The Lake State students earned 522 degrees across the disciplines: 347 bachelor’s degrees, 159 associate degrees, and 16 certificates in fisheries and wildlife management, engineering, robotics engineering, nursing, criminal justice, business, fire science, and kinesiology, plus many other fields.
Keynote speaker U.S. Sen. Gary Peters of Michigan called LSSU a “world-class institution” that prepares graduates for “in-demand and forward-looking jobs,” he said. Urging graduates to become leaders of tomorrow in the workforce and in the community, he observed, “Your new journey begins today.”
Graduating student speaker Kirk Allen Smallegan, who earned a B.S. in nursing, told classmates and the several thousand well-wishers gathered in Taffy Abel Arena: “Continue to learn something new each and every day” and embrace “humility.”
Associate Professor of Mathematics Dr. Robert Kipka received Lake State’s 2021-22 Distinguished Teaching Award.
Commencement master of ceremonies LSSU President Dr. Rodney S. Hanley referenced that graduates obtain the academic knowledge, practical skills, and inner strength to craft a life of meaningful employment and personal fulfillment while enhancing the quality of life of the Great Lakes region, the country, and the world. He concluded the festivities by remarking that the two most important words for the day were “thank you”: to the graduates, their families, and their alma mater.
