Chloe Bossert/Daily Mining Gazette Nearly 1,300 undergraduates and graduate students received their degrees during two ceremonies, Friday and Saturday at Michigan Tech.

HOUGHTON — Spring commencement ceremonies this weekend at Michigan Technological University saw more than 440 graduate and over 840 undergraduate students walk the stage of the John J. MacInnes Student Ice Arena, in the Student Development Complex. 

The graduate ceremony, with students receiving doctorate and master’s degrees, was held at 3 p.m. Friday. The undergraduate ceremony took place at 10:30 a.m. Saturday. 

The Spring Graduate Student Speaker, Houssein Yassin, was born in the west African country of Gambia, and later moved to Lebanon before coming to the United States as a Fulbright Scholar. Although born on the other side of the planet, Yassin calls Michigan Tech home. Yassin spoke about his struggles and how many can relate, even if they did not come from the same background. “Your circumstances can explain you, but they do not get to define you,” he said. “If you told 11 year-old me I’d stand on a stage like this, I wouldn’t have believed it.”

Yassin holds two master’s degrees, one in mechanical engineering from Michigan Tech the other in aerospace engineering from the University of Michigan. He completed his doctorate in mechanical engineering this semester at Tech. 

“Even if your story looks nothing like mine, I hope it doesn’t,” he said. “I know you’ve had your own moments when quitting would have been easier, but you got up, you still tuned in, and you still showed up.” 

Michigan Tech Board of Trustees Jeffery Littmann, gave the commencement address at both ceremonies. Littman said his time managing the finances of the Buffalo Bills prepared him to give his best effort on Tech’s Board of Trustees.

Littman used a football analogy in his address to both sets of graduates. “And that frames up the theme I have for you today, which is to encourage you all to keep playing the long game,” he said. “Go deep, stretch the field, block and tackle, protect your image and be resilient.” 

Littmann also tied in personal responsibility and financial investment in his address. He said the growth students have made is tied to Michigan Tech’s growth, and its recent achievement recognized as a premier R1 research institution. 

“With your Michigan Tech credentials, you have set a baseline for your personal human capital,” he said. “Now you need to invest in it every day, and let the power of compounding do its magic.” 

Undergraduate Student Speaker, Caelan Mead-O’Brien, said his time at Michigan Tech was difficult but rewarding. 

“Our time at Michigan Tech hasn’t always been easy — academically, personally or meteorologically,” he said. “Each time that we stepped outside our comfort zone: whether in a lab, leadership role, internship interview or a frozen parking lot … we learned what we are capable of.”

Mead-O’Brien said he often thought about  the time he saw the Northern Lights while taking a break from studying. It motivated him to keep going, as the quiet moments are often the most beautiful. 

“So, when that exam comes that feels overwhelming, when the wind is roaring in your face, when the road is uncertain — remember the lights over Lake Superior,” he said. “Remember: you are more prepared than you think.”

As always is the case, one of the highlights of Spring Commencement is the ROTC Commissioning Ceremony. In addition to their Michigan Tech diplomas five cadets took the oath and became officers in the U.S. military — four in the Army and one in the Air Force.