Commencement Ceremony
Saturday, December 11 @ 10 a.m.

Steve Meeker, Vice President of University Advancement: Good morning. I'm Steve Meeker, Vice President of University Advancement. It is my pleasure to welcome you to the 182nd commencement ceremony at Black Hills State University. Please rise for the presentation of colors by the BHSU ROTC Color Guard.

Today's ceremony is led by our student senate president, Mr. Keegan Baatz. Joining him are participants in today's commencement ceremony, and platform party guests including President Laurie Nichols and regent Jim Thares. Also represented are members of the Black Hills State University Administration, the Council of Deans, and the Faculty Senate. Members of the administration and the esteemed faculty of Black Hills State University, representing the College of Business and Natural Sciences, the College of Education and Behavioral Sciences, and the College of Liberal Arts, led by Dr. Susie Dana, professor of law.

And now, it is my pleasure to present the graduates from the class of 2021. Candidates for the master's degree led by Dr. Faye LaDuke-Pelster, associate professor of reading education and chair of the School of Education, also led by Dr. Jane Klug, the Dean of Students.

Baccalaureate degree candidates graduating from the university honors program led by Ms. Kelly Kirk, instructor of history and director of the honors program, and also led by Dr. Martin Fashbaugh, associate professor of English and the chair of the School of Arts and Humanities.

Candidates for the baccalaureate degree from the College of Business and Natural Sciences, led by Dr. Dan Asunskis, associate professor of chemistry and the chair of the School of Natural Sciences.

Candidates for the baccalaureate degree from the College of Education and Behavioral Sciences, led by Dr. Emilia Flint, professor of psychology and the chair of the School of Behavioral Sciences.

Candidates for the baccalaureate degree from the College of Liberal Arts, led by Dr. Daluss Siewert, professor of mathematics and the chair of the School of Mathematics and Social Sciences.

Candidates for the associate's degree led by Dr. Charlie Lamb, professor of biology and chief research officer.

Please remain standing for the National Anthem, under the direction of Jonathan Nero. We remind all in attendance that proper respect is to face the flag and stand at attention with your right hand over your heart. Men should remove their hat or cap. Veterans in active duty military, not in uniform, may also salute the flag. And now, ladies and gentlemen, our National Anthem:

Please be seated. And now, ladies and gentlemen, it is my pleasure to introduce to you, the president of Black Hills State University, Dr. Laurie Nichols.

Laurie Nichols, President of Black Hills State University: Good morning, and welcome to our winter commencement. It is my honor to introduce members of the platform party. I would ask if each of the platform members would stand for a moment as I call your name, and audience, will you please hold your applause till the end. Regent Jim Thares serves as our ceremonial representative from the South Dakota Board of Regents. Mr. Dick Termes is receiving an honorary doctorate, and he is a 1964 Black Hills State college alumnus. Dr. Pam Carriveau is our interim provost and vice president for academic affairs. Mr. Keegan Baatz serves as our student senate president. Dr. Nancy Roberts is our faculty senate president. Dr. Cynthia Anderson is interim dean of the school of natural sciences. Ms. Laura Prosser serves as interim dean of the School of Business. Dr. Betsy Silva is dean of the College of Education and Behavioral Sciences. Dr. Amy Fuqua is dean of the College of Liberal Arts, and director of graduate studies. Ms. April Meeker is our registrar. Mr. Steve Meeker is vice president for university advancement. Ms. Lauren Beyersdorf is Black Hills State University Alumni Association president. And Dr. John Allred serves as vice president for enrollment management. Would you help me welcome our stage party?

Graduates, now is an appropriate time to recognize a group who have really been your partners in this journey. They have provided mentorship to you, they certainly have given you encouragement, and they might have given you a little prodding as you completed your coursework. So I'm gonna ask the faculty who are in the front row, if you would stand so we could recognize you. And then, graduates, would you help me in thanking the faculty for all they have done for you?

Thank you faculty. Congratulations, graduates, your day has arrived and I don't need to tell you that the last four semesters at Black Hills State have been unusual, and really at times quite challenging. None of us could have predicted a pandemic when you began your college degree, nor how much it may change your completion. But despite the many, many modifications we have had to make along the way, you stayed the course. And for that, I really admire you and I congratulate you. Your effort, hard work, and perseverance have paid off. Today, you become a college graduate. Where you join about one third of all adults in the United States who hold a Bachelor's degree or higher. Your degree will open doors to opportunities that you can't even imagine today. It certainly did for me. I am so excited for your future and all the possibilities that you will realize. Becoming a college graduate is a distinction in our society that sets you apart from others. And that distinction comes because our society values education. Evidence suggests that college graduates are not only highly employable, but they also enrich the civic and economic lives of their communities as they volunteer, provide community leadership, or make philanthropic contributions. As Nelson Mandela said: "Education is the most powerful tool, which you can use to change the world." Today, with the degree in hand, your ability to make our world a better place becomes much greater. As hard as you have worked on earning this degree, you didn't get here alone. Your family has been a great source of support to you throughout these college years. And really, in a reciprocal fashion, your achievement has provided inspiration and hope to your family. Today, they are here to celebrate with you. And I know as you walk across the stage in just a little bit, they will be bursting with pride. They love you. You matter to them. So graduates, I'm gonna ask if you would stand. Good job, that's you graduates, stand up. And I'm just gonna ask to look around the room and find your family if they're able to be with you here today. And would you help me in thanking your family for all you've done for them.

Families, thank you so much for being here and thank you for your support. You may be seated, graduates. There are two words that are commonly used on days like today. One is graduation, and the other is commencement. Graduation signifies the end, the finish line. It celebrates the fact that you have successfully completed this phase of your education, and brings closure to this chapter of your life. Graduation says "Woohoo! We're done!" Commencement, on the other hand, signifies the starting gate, the beginning of a new life. It says you are transitioning from the past to the future. Commencement celebrates that the best part of your life is ahead of you. Both terms are very appropriate for today, and both are really meaningful. But today, I choose to leave you with my congratulations on your commencement. On your beginning. Your future is so bright. You have ability, passion, commitment, to make a difference in our world. And as Yellowjackets, graduates of this great university, I know that wherever you go, you will carry your alma mater with you and you will represent us very, very well. Congratulations, graduates, on your commencement, on all the bright and beautiful possibilities that lie in store for you. I hope you grab that future, walk through those doors of opportunity, and have a really, really wonderful, meaningful life. Congratulations, graduates, we're so, so proud of you.

As part of today's ceremony, we are really honored to recognize Mr. Dick Termes with the awarding of an honorary degree of humane letters. The honorary doctorate is the highest honor bestowed by the South Dakota Board of Regents, and universities like ours. Recipients have distinguished themselves throughout their career with outstanding service and exemplary achievements in their fields of endeavor. Mr. Termes, will you please join Dr. Carriveau and I on the lower stage, for the presentation of this award?

Amy Fuqua, Dean of the College of Liberal Arts: Dick Termes graduated from Black Hills State College in 1964, with a Bachelor's degree in education. He went on to earn a Master's degree in art from the University of Wyoming, and a Master's of fine art from Otis Art Institute in Los Angeles. He is an internationally recognize artist who combined art and math to devise a six-point perspective system to create a unique painting on large spheres, called termeshperes. Termeshperes capture an entire environment: up, down, left, right, front, and back. Their style was inspired by Dick's desire to paint the total picture. Hung from small chains attached to electric motors, termespheres slowly rotate to reveal a complete, closed universe. As the world's leading spherical artist, he has termeshperes housed in numerous collections around the world, and has been featured in countless books and magazines. He was honored to receive an invitation to display his work at the University of Rome alongside the work of one of his major inspirations, M. C. Escher. Dick has presented art and math seminars all across the globe, revealing the connections between art and math in his work. He received the South Dakota governor's award in arts, and was inducted into the South Dakota Hall of Fame. Please help me congratulate Dick Termes and welcome him to the podium for a few words.

Dick Termes, Honorary Doctorate Recipient: This is so cool! [laughs] It's been 57 years since I was sitting out there like you. Can you imagine? That's a lot of years. But, it gave me a good beginning, and a good start to play in world. You know, I do a lot of artwork, obviously, and I do the artwork because I like that it gives me back new ideas. I don't approach art like a lot of people do, I approach it with like a science project, almost. So I get some basic ideas and then I see what kinds of knowledge it'll give me back. And it's been very fruitful for me over the years. I mean, lots of cool stuff has happened. I've gotten patents, I've gotten you know, lots of awards and stuff, which is always cool, you know? It's nice when people actually say thank you, or good job, and stuff. And so I really want to thank Black Hills State, Dr. Nichols, and Steve Meeker, the people that I connect with a lot here. But, mainly what I want to talk to you about is a concept that one of my art pieces gave back to me, the information it gave back. This is how I started this art project that I was working on: I had, like most artists, they find stuff lying around and they put it together and create things with it. I had a hemisphere about this size, a transparent one, and I had a big tube, that it could mount the hemisphere on. And I put the hemisphere on top of that, but before I did that, I put a little motor inside, so I could stick a little ball, like a two inch ball, on top of the motor inside the hemisphere. And then, I filled the hemisphere with all kinds of two inch balls, just like the original one down below. I filled it up, and plugged it in, and watched it to see what kind of art I had just created. And I looked at it, and it was, like, popcorn. It was moving around, jumping around, doing this and that, and I thought "Ok, if I was an engineer I would look at this and understand gearing systems, how gears work." And it was just really fun to watch. So I watched it for a little bit, and turned my back for a minute, and looked back and it had stopped! It didn't turn, nothing was turning in there. The little ball down below was turning, but nothing else was turning. And I thought, "Well, this is weird" You know, how can this work? So I shook it up a little bit, and once again, magically, it started turning and everything looked really good. I was real excited about it and thought, "Well, this should continue like this." Turned around a little bit--No, it didn't! It stopped again, and I went, "What the heck?! This doesn't make any sense!" I thought about it quite a bit, I think I even tried it one more time, but then, the third time, I thought, "Ok, what's happening here? The whole system is stopping." But over on the side, I saw a little inch ball, a little, tiny ball that was all painted and it was ugly kind of. It had holes in it because I probably used it to build a polyhedron in the past. I thought, "Okay, I'll just throw this little ball in with the rest of them." Stirred it up, and it continued. An hour later, I came back, it was still turning. Two hours later, I came back, it was still turning. And I thought "Okay, so how does this relate to the world I live in?" Because that's how people look at art. It has to connect with us. "Okay," I thought. "Okay, this is like society, and if all the balls are the same size, at a certain point they stop functioning. Nothing happens. If you throw a little odd ball in there, and it continues to make things stir up." They get frustrated with that little oddball sometimes, but they're the thing, the Einstein's. They're the odd people that come into the world that actually make it keep going. And, so we have to keep space for those, that oddball. It's the professors we have sometimes, it's that friend you have sometimes. Keep them encouraged and keep them going, because they're also very important in the whole societal structure of how things work. But I very much thank you for this, and I wish you guys all well. And go forward and, even if you're an oddball, you'll do good!

Laurie Nichols: Thank you so much, Dick, and again, our congratulations. It is my pleasure to ask our student senate president, Mr. Keegan Baatz, to come forward to deliver the charge to the graduates.

Keegan Baatz, Student Senate President: Thank you, President Nichols. Good morning, Regent Thares, President Nichols, honored guests, classmates, family and friends of the graduates, faculty and staff, and most importantly this year's graduates. Thank you for being here, and thank you for your support on such an important day in the lives of those graduating. For some, this is the start of a career, others, it is your final days in Spearfish before moving somewhere to begin a new adventure. And for some of you, you might have Graduate School on your horizon. Regardless of whatever is in store for your future, you always have a community here at Black Hills State supporting you. I would like to start off by saying thank you to the BHSU Administration. Not only have they given me the opportunity to speak here at graduation, but the fear and nausea that I have experienced the last few weeks at the thought of giving this speech has made me lose some weight. So that might be a win-win in my book.

Today marks an end to this chapter of your life, yet it is also the beginning of something new. A book that is yet to be written. With that in mind, I encourage you to never stop learning, take risks, and remember those who helped you along the way. Four years ago, I came here to Black Hills State University not knowing anyone, but now I look at the crowd in front of me, and I recognize so many friends, familiar faces, classmates, and all people who make me proud of this university. And people who have helped me on my journey to graduation, which sadly doesn't happen until may for me, so I might be a little jealous. For me, during my academic journey, it was Skott Chandler and Jerry Rawlings who I have to thank for the unwavering support and knowledge over my years here. For others, it might be Gina Gibson, or Charlie Lamb. Maybe it's Chris McCart for those outdoor education majors, or Pam Carriveau over in the political science department. Regardless of whoever the faculty and staff members are that helped you become the person you are today, make sure to thank them and reach out to them to let them know the impact they had on your life. Today may be about what your future holds, but that doesn't mean it can't be spent reminiscing over the last years. The time spent on campus with friends you made, and lessons you learn, a lot can happen in the years at college. The memories that are made are ones that are sure to be remembered for life. Whether it was the late nights spent studying in the dorm room lobbies, a 12 a.m. trip to Taco Bell on a Tuesday, or even the weekly medium at stadium's power hour on a Saturday night, which I hope to see you all at. All jokes aside, I, everyone on this stage, your professors, advisors, and everyone else who you have connected with here at BHSU, is cheering you on from the sidelines. Success is a community effort, and we are your community. During school, as well as in your future endeavors, the Yellowjacket spirit doesn't stop after graduation. I would like to reference the newly added sculpture created by artist Dale Lamphere on the Jackson Street roundabout, The Hive. I hoped you all had a chance to see the sculpture on your way here to campus today. It truly is a piece of art that embodies the culture we strive to create here on campus. Symbolically, a hive represents a community, a home, and a place where people look after one another, as well as take care of each other. It is a symbol of our Yellowjacket spirit. All the years studying, late nights, and stress-filled weeks were worth it. Graduating college is no small achievement, especially given what we have all endured the last 2 years. COVID may have provided you with hardships and many stress-filled times. But by graduating here today, you have shown perseverance and fortitude. You're minutes away from getting your diploma and crossing the stage to wherever you choose next. You may be graduating from Black Hills State University, but that doesn't mean you're leaving the community that you became a part of however many years ago as a freshman. It spans more than just Spearfish. Wherever we go, our community follows. So as you leave the town you called home for the last years, remember what it means to be a part of The Hive. Congratulations again, Yellowjackets, and good luck wherever life leads you next.

Laurie Nichols: Thank you so much, Keegan, for those remarks. We are also privileged to have Regent Jim Thares, who will bring you greetings from the South Dakota Board of Regents.

Jim Thares, SDBOR Representative: Well thank you, President Nichols, and good morning Yellowjackets! Get some excitement in this room! I am delighted to be greeting you on behalf of South Dakota Board of Regents. We join your families and friends today in congratulating you and sharing in your excitement and satisfaction. The Board knows you've worked very hard to attain this goal. For you, you are warmly commended. You know, 4 plus years ago, I was asked by the governor to serve on the Board of Regents, and I accepted not because I had nothing to do, it's because I believe in my state. I believe in the value of education. And I believe in each one of you. I'm an average kid that grew up in little town, South Dakota, that chose not to accept being average. I contribute so much of that to my education that I received along the way. President Nichols, the faculty and staff, have done a tremendous job in preparing each of you for today. And more importantly, preparing you to be successful in life. There's one additional class you took that's not in your transcript, it's not required for your diploma. It's called social learning. I believe its so important in today of our society and computers and internet. It's all the time you spent outside the classroom, whether it was hanging out in the Student Union, participating with other friends at sporting events and activities, maybe happy hour down at the local pub, or it was bible study at the Newman Center. All those relationships and all those experiences are truly what prepared you today. And I think its going to make each of you successful in life. Everybody thinks when you say success, it has to do with how much money you make, and that is absolutely false. Success has to do with being the best that you can be. The best at who you are. As you go through life like I have, I challenge each of you to not accept anything but being successful. Don't be afraid of the stumbles and the bumps in the road, you're going to have them. But success lies out there for each of you, and it's for you to go get. So again, on behalf of myself and the board of regents, I congratulate each of you as you begin your next chapters in life. Now, by authority vested to the Board of Regents by the Constitution of the State of South Dakota, I hereby delegate to President Nichols the right to confer the degrees and diplomas, with all the rights, privileges, and responsibilities pertaining thereto. Dr. President Nichols.

Laurie Nichols: Thank you, Regent Thares. I am pleased to introduce the Black Hills State University Chamber Singers, under the direction of Dr. Jonathan Nero.

Thank you chamber singers, beautifully done. Black Hills State has a long history of supporting our military. Before continuing with out program, we would like to recognize all veterans, service members, and their spouses for their service to our nation. I'm going to ask if all of those who are active military, veterans, spouses, would you please stand, so we can recognize you and thank you for service to our country?

Thank you. Graduates, we're at the moment for which you have been preparing for the past several years. Before you come forward to receive your diploma, I would like to take a moment to recognize those who are first generation graduates. That is, they are first in their family to graduate from college. And I'd like to extend that to anyone in our audience as well. If you're first in your family to graduate, would you stand up so we can give you special recognition today?

Thank you, and a special congratulations to you. A photographer from the Grad Team will be taking pictures today, and they will be available for purchase one week following this ceremony. The website is on the inside cover of your commencement program. Family and friends of graduates, as a courtesy to our students who are graduating, as well as people sitting near you, we'll ask that you remain seated until the conclusion of the ceremony. It is now my pleasure to present Dr. Cynthia Anderson, interim dean of the School of Natural Sciences.

Laurie Nichols: Here to bring you greetings from the alumni association is Ms. Lauren Beyersdorf. She is the president of the Alumni Association.

Lauren Beyersdorf, Alumni Association President: Good morning friends, family, and graduates. As president of Black Hills State's Alumni Association, I am excited to welcome this graduating class to our alumni family. You are joining an elite group of individuals that includes successful business owners, thriving entrepreneurs, and sought upon industry leaders. Luckily for you as a graduate, you automatically become a member of the Alumni Association. You don't have to pass a test, you don't have to complete an application. A foundation for a fulfilling and successful career began the moment you set foot on campus. A mentor of mine once told me, "Begin as you intend to go on." For all of you, the choice to pursue our higher education at Black Hills State was your beginning. So, I challenge you, as you leave here today, to begin each day with intention. Whether you intend to start your own business, ace the next job interview, or just do better today than you did yesterday, do it with intention. Now, I ask for your help. The success and future of our wonderful university relies on our alumni, our community, and our donors. You can help make BH successful by recommending prospective students by attending one of our many alumni events, and by donating to the university when you can. I can promise you that you will benefit from staying connected to your fellow graduates and your alma mater. I hope that the next chapter of your life exceeds all of your expectations. And remember, to "Begin as you intend to go on." Congratulations, class of 2021, on your great achievement. I'd also of course like to extend a special congratulations to Dick Termes on his honorary doctorate that he received today. From myself and the Black Hills State Alumni Board, I wish you all a wonderful holiday season, and again, congratulations graduates.

Laurie Nichols: Thank you so much, Lauren. I would ask that we recognize today Dr. Symeon Waseen and Dr. Jonathan Nero, who provided the music for today's ceremony. Thank you so much, gentlemen.

We will conclude today's ceremony with the singing of our alma mater. The recessional will follow immediately. After, please remain in the bleachers until the graduates and the faculty have exited. Please stand, and join us in the singing of your alma mater, which is printed on the back of the program.

Thank you. Congratulations, again graduates and families. I hope you really enjoy the rest of your day. I also extend all of you the most happy of holidays. Graduates, faculty, and platform party: we will procession now.