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Tennessee Tech celebrated its fall graduates Friday as some 1,000 students received diplomas.
71 counties throughout Tennessee represented in Friday’s two ceremonies as were 19 different counties. Tech President Phil Oldham said he hopes the new Tech alumni realize that from wherever they may hail, Tennessee Tech and the City of Cookeville are now home to them forever.
“You are prepared,” Oldham told the graduates. “You are set to get a great return on the investment that you have made here because you have what the world wants and so desperately needs, and that is talent along with tenacity.”
Graduates received degrees in 45 undergraduate and 32 graduate fields of study.
Oldham said on average, Tech graduates receive the highest starting salary of any University in the state.
“You have clearly demonstrated those high-valued characteristics that are embodied within the degree you have received today,” Oldham said. “You are, and forever will be bold, fearless, confident, and kind Golden Eagles.”
Oldham said the sense of community students gain as a part of the university does not go away upon graduating. Oldham said, in fact, the connections made at Tech often grow stronger with time.
The ceremonies included messages from notable Tech alumni, including Tennessee Tech Athletic Hall of Famer Dianne Murphy, who played on the first-ever Tennessee Tech women’s basketball team. Murphy told the graduates that she hopes they will continue to use the lessons they learned on campus, and always remember that they have a home in Cookeville that will always welcome them back.
Oldham closed the morning ceremony by extending well-wishes and offering a scripture reading from the book of Isaiah to ensure the graduates that even when they grow tired and weary, they have the strength to soar like eagles.
