Photos: Summer and fall 2024 grads celebrate commencement milestone
Metropolitan State University of Denver this month honored more than 1,300 new graduates who celebrated their achievement at the University’s Fall Commencement ceremony in the Colorado Convention Center.
More than half of those who earned degrees are first-generation college students. The youngest graduate was age 19, and the oldest was 71.
“So regardless of when you were born, what brought you here, and who is cheering you on from the audience, your future can be whatever you want it to be,” President Janine Davidson, Ph.D., told graduates during the ceremony.
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In her remarks, Davidson paid tribute to the University’s founding in 1965 to help meet the state’s workforce needs and to offer accessible education to “learners on life’s many zig-zaggy paths.”
She recalled how then-state Sen. Roy Romer, known as the father of MSU Denver, worked tirelessly across the aisle in the state legislature to create what was then called Metropolitan State College of Denver. It’s a story of collaboration and compromise that students might relate to today.
“There is a reason so many professors ask you to work on solving a problem with a group of your classmates you might not get to choose. That is what happens in the workplace, and that is what we need to do more of — try to listen to one another to solve tough problems,” Davidson said. “This is more than just inclusivity — this is education.”
