MSU Spring Commencement is May 11

Morehead State University will hold its 2019 Spring Commencement ceremonies Saturday, May 11, at the Academic-Athletic Center (AAC). During the two programs, President Joseph A. (Jay) Morgan will confer degrees on nearly 1,200 graduate and undergraduate students. 

The first commencement program will start at 10 a.m. Students in the Elmer R. Smith College of Business and Technology and the College of Science will participate. 

Abby Isaacs of Ashland will be the morning commencement speaker for the College of Science. She is the daughter of Mary Beth Jones and Rick Jones and the wife of Kasey Isaacs. 

She is graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Sciences. 

Isaacs is a member of MSU’s George M. Luckey Jr. Academic Honors Program and its Academic Honors Student Association, where she has served as chairwoman of programming and chairwoman of finance. She has been an Undergraduate Research Fellow since August 2016 and presented her work at MSU’s Celebration of Student Scholarship. Isaacs also served as a tutor with MSU’s Tutoring and Learning Center for four semesters. 

She has completed an internship with King’s Daughters Medical Center in Ashland and was a State Registered Nursing Assistant (SRNA) with the Oakmont Manor Nursing Facility in Flatwoods for more than two years. 

When she is away from the classroom, Isaacs is an active volunteer. She currently serves as both a hospitality volunteer for the Community Hospice Care Center in Ashland and a helpline volunteer for the National Eating Disorders Association. 

Isaacs plans to enroll in medical school at the University of Louisville. She hopes to complete a dual residency in both internal medicine and psychiatry and return to Eastern Kentucky to continue her career in the medical field. 

The afternoon commencement program will start at 2 p.m. Candidates from the College of Education and Caudill College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences will participate.  

Sarah Fink of Hollsopple, Pennsylvania, will be the afternoon commencement speaker for the Caudill College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences. She is the daughter of Kaye Fink and William Fink. 

She is a candidate for both a Bachelor of Arts in Government with a minor in international studies and a Certificate in Intelligence Studies with an emphasis in regional analysis.  

Fink was an Undergraduate Research Fellow since Fall 2017. She was a former vice president of the Cicero Society, an organization to promote intellectual diversity through open discourse and debate and represented MSU as an accomplished D-1 athlete on the Rifle Team for the 2016-17 and 2017-18 seasons, where she earned multiple top scores. She is also a member of Kappa Delta sorority, where she held leadership positions. She was an undergraduate representative for the Caudill College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences Strategic Planning Committee. She was also a member of MSU’s Model European Union, the Political Science Club and the College Republicans. 

Fink has presented several papers at state political science and intelligence studies conferences and has published a paper in the peer-reviewed academic journal “The Commonwealth Review of Political Science.” She has also completed internships at both the Kentucky Office of Homeland Security and the Canadian Parliamentary Internship Program in Ottawa, Ontario. 

Fink is also a member of Daughters of the American Revolution, where she participated in organizational events like Shoeboxes for Soldiers and traveled to participate in the organization’s Continental Congress in Washington, D.C. 

Fink plans to continue her education by enrolling in the Master of Arts in Intelligence and Securities Studies program at The Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina. She hopes to one day work as an intelligence analyst for the FBI or the Department of Homeland Security. 

For the commencement exercises, the grand marshal and mace bearer will be Dr. Greg J. Detweiler, professor of music. 

Faculty marshals will be Dr. Julia Ann Hypes, associate professor of sports management, and Dr. Kimberlee Sharp, associate professor of education. 

Student marshals will be: 

• Topaz A. Jordan and Cody J. Mitchell, Graduate Programs 
• Catherine A. Bowling and Ashton A. Killen, College of Science 
• Natalie K. Hampton and Courtney B. Rodman, Elmer R. Smith College of Business and Technology 
• Shawntasia M. Butler and Hannah C. McFarland, College of Education 
• Janessa J. Broadhurst and Jonathan A. Elliot, Caudill College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences. 

Eliza Grace Eaches will sing the national anthem and Tristan Chandler Hinkle will lead the alma mater. 

ROTC students will be commissioned as part of each program. 

Following the ceremony, the newest alumni will be inducted into the MSU Alumni Association, Inc. by its president, Dr. Jason Marion. 

No large bags or backpacks will be permitted in the AAC during the ceremonies and commuter buses will run from the U.S. 60 lot to the AAC. 

Additional information on spring commencement exercises is available by calling 606-783-2008 or visit www.moreheadstate.edu/graduation.