Saginaw Valley State University

Chi Weng more than adapted to the idea of wearing a red ceremonial robe during the May 2016 Saginaw Valley State University commencement ceremony.

Ask Ashli Maser about her passions, and she will respond at first with a wide, white smile.

The funeral invitation came from a stranger.

Lending a helping hand to the community has been at the core of Riley Hupfer's character throughout his time at SVSU.

Heading into a profession that is over 75 percent dominated by males is just one more challenge for Megan VanFleteren to overcome.

Brandon Jones describes himself as a man of purpose. He does his best to fulfill his genuine purpose every day at SVSU.

Students earned degrees from Saginaw Valley State University during the December 2015 graduation ceremonies.

In total, 934 graduates earned degrees in May from Saginaw Valley State University.

After she graduates from Saginaw Valley State University in May with a bachelor's degree in biology and Spanish, Miranda Strasburg will leap-frog the typical path of a student who graduates with a baccalaureate degree and then enters a master's program. Instead, Strasburg in August will immediately jump to a doctoral program when she moves to Oxford, Ohio to attend Miami University's Ph.D. program in ecology, evolution and environmental biology.

When Evan Linskey begins his master's program at Indiana University's School of Public and Environmental Affairs in the fall, he already will have logged plenty of hours in environmental management research in his own home state. At SVSU, he worked as a research assistant for the geography department, helping the community by studying the water quality of the Kawkawlin, Pigeon and Pinnebog rivers, analyzing how each affected the Saginaw Bay.

Since childhood, Terrance Moore has been planning a career in law enforcement. Thanks in large part to his experience at Saginaw Valley State University -- and all the opportunities it presented -- that career already has begun. By the time Moore graduates with a bachelor's degree in May, the criminal justice major will have been working as a deputy corrections officer for the Saginaw County Sheriff's Department at the Saginaw County Jail for two years.

Helping others doesn't cost Shantinique Beverly energy. It provides the energy. The Detroit native learned this lesson about herself through her studies and learning-based community service while at Saginaw Valley State University, where she will graduate in May.

Rashed Aldubayyan couldn't speak much English when the Saudi Arabia native first enrolled in the English Language Program at Saginaw Valley State University in 2010. Five years later, he's mastered the language along with the academics as he prepares to graduate in May and attend the master's program in applied information technology at George Mason University in the fall.

After receiving her bachelor's degree from Saginaw Valley State University in May, Stephanie Marr plans to combine those two passions by teaching English in other countries. Her first stop in June is Colombia, as she has been chosen for the English Teaching Fellowship by Heart for Change, an organization that brings English teachers to Colombia.

After graduating from Saginaw Valley State University in May, Valerie Adams will move to North Carolina, where she is enrolled in the highly competitive Doctor of Physical Therapy program at Duke University.

Brandon Skwirsk knew he wanted to become a doctor in the sixth grade. But it wasn't until he began studying for the profession at Saginaw Valley State University that he truly realized the career was a match made for him. "I fell in love with it here," said Skwirsk, set to graduate from SVSU in May with a bachelor's degree in biology.

SVSU senior Luke Sheppard was hired full-time as a math teacher at Bridgeport Middle School, weeks before earning a bachelor's degree in mathematics education in May.

For years, Garrick Salois racked his brain, searching for his niche as an undergraduate student. Eventually, the Kawkawlin native realized the brain was his niche. Salois this fall will attend the University of Rochester's Ph.D. program in neuroscience, studying for a career in brain research.

When Lexee Longwell graduates from Saginaw Valley State University in May, the theatre major will move to London, England to join Ovation Limited Theatre Co. as an intern at the arts group's venue, Upstairs At The Gatehouse.

On Saginaw Valley State University's golf team, Micah Skidmore's precision and hard work paid off, earning the Saginaw native numerous accolades including First Team All-GLIAC honors in 2014. In his SVSU studies, a different kind of precision and hard work helped Skidmore hit the college student equivalent of winning a tournament: A full-time job waiting for him after graduation.

April Lukowski is the epitome of the homegrown college student who found a calling and an exemplary education at Saginaw Valley State University, all while helping the community where she was raised. Now that experience has opened new doors. Lukowski this fall will begin postgraduate studies at the University of Michigan, where she is enrolled in the Ph.D. program for chemical biology.

Star student. Prospective teacher. Active volunteer. Homecoming queen. Red Pride incarnate. All of those titles could apply to Emily VanFleteren, one of Saginaw Valley State University's more active students in recent years. In May, the Troy native will add the title "graduate" to that list. Those familiar with her expect VanFleteren will continue building a fine reputation -- and stellar resume -- for herself once she begins her professional career as a teacher.

Samantha R. Jackson arrived at Saginaw Valley State University unsure of her place or what to expect. She departs having earned admission and a scholarship to a leading law school.

In total, 922 graduates earned degrees from Saginaw Valley State University during May 2014 graduation ceremonies.

Saginaw Township native Jennica Young this fall has been accepted into a Ph.D. program in psychology at Southern Illinois University's Brain and Cognitive Science program. Young's next academic challenge will follow her graduation from Saginaw Valley State University, where she is set to receive a bachelor's degree in psychology in May. She will join some 1,000 classmates earning degrees from the institution.

When Marlin Jenkins arrived as a freshman at Saginaw Valley State University, he was a Woodhaven native looking for a campus with "a small community feel." Four years later, as he prepares to exit the school after receiving his bachelor's degree in May, the creative writing major says his ambition now is to become part of a community no smaller than the world itself.

Shepherd native Kerri Vasold been accepted to the Michigan State University Ph.D. program for kinesiology. She begins this fall. Vasold is one of some 1,000 students set to graduate from Saginaw Valley State University this May.

Earning a full-time job straight out of college isn't an everyday occurrence, but Midland resident Nicholas Anderson isn't an everyday student, his professors will tell you. Before Anderson graduates from Saginaw Valley State University in May, he was promised a full-time job as an accountant at nearby Dow Corning Corp., one of the world's leading manufacturers of silicon used in next generation technology.

Alpena native Hope Bauer this fall will pursue a doctor of medicine degree from Michigan State University's College of Human Medicine. Bauer's latest academic endeavor will begin after she receives her bachelor's degree in biology from Saginaw Valley State University in May. She joins 1,005 other graduates earning degrees from the institution. Bauer said her studies in medicine and her ambition to become a doctor were inspired in part by migraines she's endured since she was a youth. "I had to

Flint native Evan Nudi will head to Texas this fall with plans to pursue a Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin's behavioral neuroscience program. He will continue the sort of research he began at Saginaw Valley State University, where Nudi graduates along with some 1,000 other students in May.