State-Journal.com - Kentucky State University graduates set out to find their passion

Kentucky State University's president figured out how to be two places at once Saturday " a day hundreds of students looked forward to for years.
At the 119th KSU commencement in the Frankfort Convention Center, Dr. Mary Evans Sias " by video on a giant screen " gave 312 graduates a few tips to take to the real world.
She apologized for not attending the ceremony, saying the only thing that would keep her away was her daughter's graduation on the same morning.
"Like you, (Adrienne Sias) is giving her family the most wonderful gift for Mother's Day " her graduation," Dr. Sias said.
Her only child, Adrienne Sias, graduated from Huston-Tillotson University in Austin, Texas, and her mother gave the commencement address there Saturday.
By video in Frankfort, Dr. Sias told the graduates to follow their hearts.
"Find out what you have a passion for," she said. "Then go for it. Some people look a whole lifetime to find their passion. I want you to try to find it out early. Always be true to yourself and give 150 percent.
"Get over the fact that life will not always be fair. It never has been and it never will be. Once you recognize that fact, then you can move on to be the best and do the best you can with whatever you have. And don't procrastinate."
Honor graduate Sedetria Crawford, 32, from Danville, said she has learned a lot about patience at KSU.
"It was a rough road," Crawford said, commuting from Danville, working full time and caring for her grandmother, who has health problems. She received a degree in social work at KSU after getting a degree in sociology from the University of Louisville. After earning a 4.0 grade point average at KSU, she is returning to U of L soon to pursue a master's in social work.
Crawford's close friend, Serretta-Brooke Thompson, 27, from Lexington, started at KSU in 1999, left for a few years, then returned to graduate with honors in social work Saturday.
She said she loved her experience at KSU. There's a "family" atmosphere on campus, and the school "is really great about bringing people together."
Thompson said if a student needs help and asks " it's available.
While going to college, Thompson said she worked about 30 hours a week in mental health at Eastern State Hospital in Lexington. Now she's also headed for U of L to work on a master's in social work.
Randal Lay, 23, of St. Louis, came to KSU on a band scholarship and majored in business management. He said his goal is to "own my own business and be in Fortune 500 magazine."
Lay's father, William Collins, of Orlando, Fla., said he was pleased with the education his son received. Collins said he went to Indiana State University, and KSU is much more family-oriented.
"One of his teachers turned out to be his landlord," Collins said. "And there's nothing like going to a bar and one of your teachers reminding you that you've got a test tomorrow."
Honor graduate Christopher Hogan, student regent at KSU from Dayton, Ohio, majored in public administration and plans to someday be a university president.
Hogan, an employee at Farmers Bank in Frankfort, said he "loves the sense of community at KSU. I've always heard when you go to college you'll meet students and faculty who you will remember for a lifetime. That is true."
In January 2009, Hogan plans to go to graduate school at either Indiana University or Bowling Green State University in Ohio "to obtain a master's in higher education administration."
Commencement speaker was Dr. William C. Parker, a retired vice chancellor for minority affairs at the University of Kentucky.
He is founder and president of Parker & Parker Associates, a human resource development consultant firm in Lexington, and has written numerous articles and books on human behavior, managerial psychology, multiculturalism, prejudice reduction and effective teaching and leadership in educational and corporate environments.
Parker, 83, has received more than 1,000 awards for outstanding service and achievement, including the Most Outstanding Alumni Award from Illinois State University where he received his undergraduate and master's degrees.
Parker's address "was wonderful," said Thompson. "He talked a lot about responsibilities. Being a nontraditional student, it's very important to know that you are responsible for yourself. I've had to learn that, and I know it well."
In addition to numerous graduates from Frankfort and Kentucky, students receiving degrees Saturday were from California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, New York, Ohio, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington, Washington, D.C. and Wisconsin; Ethiopia, South Korea, Egypt and The Gambia.