Graduating students promenade down the aisle at ISU spring 2010 commencement

Hulman Center was packed with friends and family Saturday, May 8 to watch Indiana State’s 2010 Commencement ceremony, where almost 1,500 students participated.

“This is my 20th year attending graduation,” said Debra Worley, a professor of communication. “I read names as students walk across the stage, and it is extra special when I see some of my students.”

Graduates walked out to the traditional “Pomp and Circumstance March No. 2,” by Sir Edward Elgar, played by the University Commencement Band. The band, a combination of the ISU Symphonic and Wind bands, was led by Dr. Dennis Ballard, an assistant professor of music.

 The commencement speakers for the ceremony were Shanel Poole, a political science and communication major and Connia Nelson, a 1977 ISU alumna and senior vice president of human resources for Verizon Telecom.

Poole, a 27-year-old graduate, spoke on the hard times she experienced before she came to college. Between an alcoholic father and being labeled a “juvenile delinquent” as a teenager, Poole came to ISU to start anew.

“ISU cares for its students and [their] needs,” Poole said. “It is my ‘safe haven’ because I was able to grow and find peace [and] shelter here.”

She learned to be confident and gained leadership skills because of the professors and staff at ISU, which is why she was able to start and become the director of G.L.A.M,. or Gorgeous Ladies Acting Maturely, a non-profit organization that supports at-risk girls between the ages of 9 and 18.

“Remember to love life,” Poole said. “We all have the knowledge now to be all we can be because ISU gave us more from day one. We are now ready to conquer the world, class of 2010.”

Nelson earned a bachelor’s degree in business from ISU in 1977 and can never forget the time she spent here.

“I learned life lessons in the classroom, working in the psychology department and participating in extracurricular activities,” Nelson said. “I made some great bonds with people and have stayed friends and maintained those relationships throughout the years.”

Nelson describes herself as a “small town girl from Indiana” that only made it to where she is by dreaming big. Her speech advised that the world is full of millions of teachable moments, and everyone should learn from their missteps. She told the graduates that “all things are possible if you only believed,” which was the essence of her speech.

“Commencement is a great time,” said ISU President Daniel Bradley. “It is an end and a beginning for everyone, particularly the graduates.”

With the shifting of their tassels and the playing of the alma mater, the class of 2010 officially became graduates.

Josh Chapman, president of Sycamore Ambassadors, lit the ceremonious torch and welcomed the graduates into the Alumni Association by “recording the class and their role of honor” into the symbolic book, shown on ISU’s seal.