♪ [MUSIC] [SINGING "MSU SHADOWS"] >> THANK YOU TO KAITLYN ELHERT, UNDERGRADUATE STUDYING ASTROPHYSICS AND ART PERFORMANCE FOR HER PLAYING OF THE HARP.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH, KAITLYN.

[APPLAUSE] >> THANK YOU TO THE TRAVEL GLEE CLUB FOR PERFORMING THE ALMA MATER, "MSU SHADOWS", OLIVIA TWA, EMILY BERKHEAD, ISABELLE MARTII, CHLOE BALMER, NEUROSCIENCE.

NOAH PARKER, BIOCHEMISTRY AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY AND AIDEN.

THANK YOU FOR THE PERFORMANCE OF THE ALMA MATER.

[APPLAUSE] >> WELCOME TO THOSE ON LIVE STREAM FROM AROUND THE WORLD.

WE'RE JOINED BY FAMILIES AND FRIENDS FROM ALL ACROSS THE GLOBE.

THANK YOU FOR JOINING US.

THANK YOU ALL FOR BEING HERE TODAY.

MY NAME IS ALLYN SHAW, ASSISTANT VICE PRESIDENT FOR STUDENT INVOLVEMENT AND LEADERSHIP.

I USE HE/HIM PRONOUNS.

I'M HONORED TO BE WITH YOU TODAY.

I'M SORRY FOR THE REASON FOR GATHERING BUT IT'S GREAT TO SEE YOU AGAIN.

I WOULD LIKE TO ACKNOWLEDGE THREE TRUSTEES HERE TODAY, DIANE BYRUM.

[APPLAUSE] >> KELLY TEBAY AND DENNIS DENO.

[APPLAUSE] >> I WOULD LIKE TO ACKNOWLEDGE PRESIDENT WOODRUFF, WHO WILL BE SPEAKING LATER.

SO, THANK YOU FOR BEING WITH US.

[APPLAUSE] >> SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT FOR STUDENT LIFE AND ENGAGEMENT, BETTY GORE.

[APPLAUSE] >> WE ALSO -- SITTING BY YOURSELF?

WE'LL ALSO BE HEARING FROM THE REVEREND DONNA McNIEL, AN EPISCOPAL MINISTER AT THE CANTERBURY AT MSU.

SHE'LL BE SPEAKING WITH US LATER.

TODAY, WE HAVE STAFF ON THE COUNSELING AND PSYCHIATRIC SERVICES AS WELL AS THE EMPLOYEE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM SHOULD YOU FEEL YOU NEED TO TALK TO SOMEBODY.

AND THEY ARE STANDING RIGHT OVER UNDER THE TENTS ON YOUR RIGHT-HAND SIDE.

SO, IF YOU WOULD JUST NEED TO TALK TO SOMEBODY OR FEEL LIKE YOU NEED TO GET AWAY, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO GO OVER TO ATTEND.

INSTITUTIONS AS OLD AS MICHIGAN STATE HAS TRADITIONS AND RITUALS WE'VE DEVELOPED OVER THE YEARS TO PRESERVE MEMORY, TO PROMOTE SPIRIT, AND TO CONNECT THE PRESENT TO THE PAST.

SOME SUCH AS THE ARMED FORCES HAVE WELL-KNOWN RITUALS CONNECTED TO REMEMBERING THEIR FALLEN.

WHETHER IT'S TOLLING OF BELLS OR BAGPIPERS.

THERE ARE INSTITUTIONS THAT CONFRONT THE REALITY OF LOSS EVERY DAY IN A PUBLIC WAY THAT AFRMS THE VALUE OF THE DEPARTED.

ON COLLEGE CAMPUSES OUR ENDURING MEMORIALS ARE MORE OFTEN TAKEN IN THE FORMS OF BUILDINGS AND MONUMENTS.

TWO BUILDINGS HERE AT MSU, THE MSU ALUMNI MEMORIAL CHAPEL AND MSU STUDENT UNION WERE ORIGINALLY DEDICATE TODAY THE IN MEMORY OF STUDENTS WHO SERVED IN AMERICA'S ARMED FORCES.

WELCOME TO THE MSU STUDENT MEMORIAL.

OUR TRADITION IN ITS TENTH YEAR TO HONOR OUR SPARTANS WE LOST.

WHILE WE RECOGNIZE THE SOLEMN OCCASION, WE ARE GRATEFUL YOU ARE ABLE TO JOIN US FOR THE CELEBRATION OF LIFE FOR 23 SPARTANS LOST IN THE LAST YEAR.

WE'RE HERE TODAY TO REMEMBER THOSE WHO LEFT US, THEIR FAMILIES AND FRIENDS IN THE UNIVERSITY IN THE PAST YEAR.

WE COME TOGETHER TO CELEBRATE THEIR LIVES, TO ACKNOWLEDGE THEIR CONTRIBUTIONS, AND TO EXPRESS OUR GRATITUDE FOR THE WAYS THEY'VE ENRICHED OUR LIVES.

IT ISN'T ABOUT TRYING TO BRING CLOSURE.

CLOSURE IS PERSONAL.

SOMETHING FOR FRIENDS AND FAMILY AND NOT A PROVINCE WHICH WE SHOULD TRY TO INTRUDE.

BUT WHAT COULD WE DO TOGETHER IS TO REMEMBER OUR LOVED ONES AND FRIENDS FOR WHO THEY WERE AND WHAT THEY REPRESENTED TO EACH OF US.

SO, I WANT TO THANK EVERYONE HERE TODAY FOR JOINING US, VIRTUALLY OR IN-PERSON TO SHARE THIS MEMORIAL PROGRAM.

WE ARE HONORING EMILY DANIELLE McDONALD, COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE AND NATURAL RESOURCES.

KORY MICHAEL ERNSTNER, COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING.

HENRY ALTON ALICA, COLLEGE OF OSTEOPATHIC MEDICINE.

JONATHAN JACK McBRIDE, COLLEGE OF NATURAL SCIENCE.

SARAH CATHERINE STRAITH, COLLEGE OF NATURAL SCIENCE AND HONORS COLLEGE.

QUINTON ALEXANDER WHITSITT COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING.

HANNAH ELAINE ALLEN, COLLEGE OF SCIENCE.

NICOLE MAXINE SARAIVA, COLLEGE O NATURAL SCIENCE.

SUN YOUNG SUN, COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING.

ZACH DEAN MASSEY, ELI BROAD COLL BUSINESS.

BENJAMIN MICHAEL KABLE, COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING.

CARRIE JANE OGDEN, COLLEGE OF VETERINARY MEDICINE.

CONNOR BOLLING, COLLEGE OF SOCIAL SCIENCE.

KERRY LYNN JESIEL, COLLEGE OF SOCIAL SCIENCE.

KAMRON FINN, COLLEGE OF SOCIAL SCIENCE.

ARIELLE DIAMOND ANDERSON, COLLEGE OF NATURAL SCIENCE.

BRIAN ANTHONY FRASER, ELI BROAD COLLEGE OF BUSINESS.

ALEXANDRIA, OR AL VERNER, COLLEGE OF NATURAL SCIENCE.

KYLIE GRACE LaPIERRE, COLLEGE OF NATURAL SCIENCE.

MATTHEW DAVID O'DONNELL, JAMES MADISON COLLEGE.

GINA FELIX MOY, COLLEGE OF MUSIC.

PEYTON VIDA BIRCH, COLLEGE OF NA SCIENCE.

AND CURTIS JAMES HOMER, COLLEGE OF NATURAL SCIENCE.

NOW, I WOULD LIKE TO INTRODUCE OUR FIRST SPEAKER TODAY, MSU INTERIM PRESIDENT, DR. TERESA WOODRUFF.

>> THANK YOU, DR. SHAW, AND GOOD AFTERNOON EVERYONE WHO IS JOINING US TODAY IN-PERSON OR VIRTUALLY AROUND THE GLOBE.

AND THANK YOU TO THOSE WHO ARE PAYING TRIBUTE TO BELOVED FAMILY MEMBERS, DEAR FRIENDS AND CHERISHED STUDENTS.

WE'RE TOGETHER TODAY TO CELEBRATE THEIR LIVES.

AND THE MEANINGFUL WAYS THEY ENRICHED OUR SPARTAN COMMUNITY.

EACH LOSS HAS A PROFOUND IMPACT ON FAMILY, FRIENDS, AND ON OUR SPARTAN COMMUNITY.

TODAY, WE HONOR THE INDELIBLE MARK EACH OF THESE INCREDIBLE STUDENTS LEFT ON OUR CAMPUS.

AND I'M GRATEFUL THAT WE CAN COMMEMORATE EACH ONE OF THEM BY PLANTING AN AMERICAN BEECH TREE ON THE WEST SIDE OF BERKEY HALL TO HONOR THEIR LEGACIES.

WRITER VICTOR HUGO ONCE SAID, LOVE IS LIKE A TREE.

IT GROWS OF ITS OWN ACCORD.

IT PUTS DOWN DEEP ROOTS INTO OUR WHOLE BEING.

THIS QUOTATION BEAUTIFULLY CAPTURES THE ESSENCE OF MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY.

AN INSTITUTION ROOTED IN THE STUDY OF THE NATURAL WORLD AND WHOSE ENTIRE CAMPUS IS AN ARBORETUM.

LIKE OUR CAMPUS COMMUNITY ITSELF, THE ARBORETUM'S MEMBERS ARE WONDERFULLY DIVERSE.

THERE ARE SOME 20,000 TREES ON OUR CAMPUS.

EACH MAPPED AND RECORDED IN A DATABASE.

EVERY PLANTING AND PRUNING IS CAREFULLY NOTED.

EACH YEAR OF A TREE'S GROWTH, IS RECORDED IN ITS TRUNK RINGS.

AND MANY, SUCH AS THE WEATHER-BEATEN RESILIENT OAK, BETWEEN THE MSU MUSEUM AND LITEN HALL ARE LIVING LINKS TO HUNDREDS OF YEARS OF HISTORY, EVEN PREDATING THIS UNIVERSITY.

THE AMERICAN BEECH TREE WE PLANT HERE IS A STURDY TREE.

THAT WHEN IT MATURES WILL OFFER SHADE AND COMFORT UNDER ITS EXPANSIVE CANOPY.

IT WILL PUT DOWN DEEP ROOTS AND STAND AS A SYMBOL OF LOVE AND VERY IMPORTANTLY WILL SERVE AS A LIVING MEMORIAL OF THE BEAUTIFUL SPARTANS WE REMEMBER TOGETHER TODAY.

I HOPE THAT THE TREE PROVIDES A PLACE FOR ALL OF US, FOR EACH OF YOU TO VISIT, TO REMEMBER AND TO REFLECT FOR MANY YEARS TO COME.

FOR AS ELIZABETH EDWARDS WROTE, IF YOU KNOW SOMEONE WHO HAS LOST A CHILD, AND YOU'RE AFRAID TO MENTION THEM BECAUSE YOU THINK YOU MIGHT MAKE THEM SAD BY REMINDING THEM THEY DIED, YOU'RE NOT REMINDING THEM.

THEY DIDN'T FORGET THEY DIED.

WHAT YOU'RE REMINDING THEM OF IS THAT YOU REMEMBERED THAT THEY LIVED.

THEY LIVED AND MSU EMBRACES EACH ONE.

AND WE OFFER EACH OF YOU THE PEACE OF UNDERSTANDING AS TOGETHER WE SEE THEIR MEMORIES IN THE LEAVES THAT WILL REACH FOREVER UPWARD.

AND AS WE GATHER ON THIS JULY DAY, A PASSAGE FROM OUR ALMA MATER THAT WE JUST HEARD, "MSU SHADOWS" COMES TO MIND.

MSU, WE LOVE THY SHADOWS WHEN TWILIGHT SHADOWS FALLS, FLUSHING DEEP OR BLUSHING BEHIND THE PINES WE'LL GATHER TO GIVE OUR FAITH SO TRUE.

LIKE VICTOR HUGO'S METAPHORICAL TREE, THE ROOTS YOUR STUDENTS PUT DOWN AT MICHIGAN STATE BECAME A PART OF OUR CAMPUS COMMUNITY'S WHOLE BEING.

AND THE CANOPY OF LEAVES WILL BE OUR SHARED MEMORIES.

THANK YOU ALL FOR GATHERING WITH US AS WE REAFFIRM OUR LOVE FOR THIS COMMUNITY AND THOSE CHERISHED STUDENTS WE HAVE LOST.

AND NOW, I WOULD LIKE TO TURN THE PROGRAM BACK TO DR. SHAW TO CONTINUE WITH TODAY'S MEMORIAL.

>> THANK YOU, DR. WOODRUFF, FOR THOSE KIND WORDS AND RECOGNITION.

I WOULD NOW LIKE TO INTRODUCE REVEREND DR. DONNA McNIEL, WHO WILL OFFER WORDS TO OUR FAMILIES, FRIENDS, AND GUESTS TO REMEMBER OUR SPARTANS.

DR. DONNA McNIEL IS INVOLVED WITH THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH AND CANTERBURY, A GROUP AT MSU.

PLEASE WELCOME DR. McNIEL.

[APPLAUSE] >> ONE EVER MY FAVORITE BOOKS IS "THE SCENT OF WATER" BY ELIZABETH GUCH, A MID-CENTURY ENGLISH AUTHOR.

IN THE MIDST OF A STORY OF A WOMAN WHO INHERITS A COUNTRY HOUSE FROM A DISTANT COUSIN, SHE WRITES LOVE IS NOT SOME MARVELOUS THING YOU FEEL BUT SOME HARD THING YOU DO.

THIS IS AS HARD AS IT GETS.

EVERY PARENT, EVERY GRANDPARENT, AUNT, AND UNCLE, KNOWS THE GRIPPING FEAR THAT COMES WITH A NEW BORN BABY, ESPECIALLY THE FIRST IN A FAMILY.

THAT SUDDEN AWARENESS OF THE VULNERABILITY OF THE BABY AND THE OVERWHELMING QUESTION OF HOW TO KEEP THIS CHILD SAFE FROM ALL THE HEARTACHES AND DANGERS THE WORLD PRESENTS?

OUR LOVE FOR THIS NEW WONDER IS ALSO THE SOURCE OF OUR FEAR, AND FOR EACH OF YOU IT IS THE SOURCE OF YOUR GRIEF.

I AM SO VERY SORRY.

IT SHOULD NOT BE THIS WAY.

PARENTS ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO OUTLIVE THEIR CHILDREN.

BROTHERS AND SISTERS ARE SUPPOSED TO HAVE A LIFETIME TOGETHER BEFORE THEY SAY GOODBYE.

THE WORLD IS SUPPOSED TO BE MARVELLING AT THE TRIUMPHS AND JOYCE OF OUR BELOVED CHILDREN.

I WILL NOT TELL YOU THERE'S SOME COSMIC PLAN FOR THIS OR THAT WE ARE NEVER GIVEN MORE THAN WE CAN HANDLE.

YOU HAVE BEEN GIVEN MORE THAN ANYONE SHOULD HAVE TO BEAR.

I CAN ONLY IMAGINE THAT GRIEF, BUT I WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT I SEE IT.

THAT ALL OF US HERESY YOUR HEARTBREAK, AND THAT WE CHERISH YOUR SPARTAN WITH YOU AND INTEND TO CONTINUE LOVING THEM AS I KNOW YOU WILL.

BECAUSE LOVE IS OUR ONLY HELP AT A TIME LIKE THIS, LOVE IS WHAT BRINGS US TOGETHER IN THIS PLACE.

THE LOVE YOU CARRY FOR YOUR CHILD.

THE LOVE THAT GAVE BIRTH TO THEM THAT WRAPPED THEM IN THEIR EARLY DAYS AND LED THEM THROUGH THEIR CHILDHOOD OF UPS AND DOWNS.

THE LOVE THAT RANG THROUGH FAMILY DINNERS AND EVEN FAMILY FIGHTS.

THE LOVE THAT FLOWED THROUGH CHILDHOOD FRIENDSHIPS AND TEENAGE ROMANCES.

THE LOVE THAT BROUGHT THEM HERE TO MICHIGAN STATE.

AND THE LOVE THAT SURROUNDED THEM IN THIS PLACE.

IT'S NOT ONLY THE LOVE OF SWEETHEARTS BACK HOME OR SWEETHEARTS MET HERE.

BUT THE LOVE OF PROFESSORS AND FRIENDS AND R.A.s AND RESIDENTS' HALL STAFF AND UNIVERSITY CHEFS AND SO MANY MORE.

I'VE BEEN HERE AT MSU FOR A LITTLE WHILE NOW, AND I CAN TELL YOU THAT THIS PLACE RUNS ON LOVE.

IT DOESN'T ALWAYS LOOK LIKE IT FROM THE OUTSIDE, AND THAT DOESN'T MEAN THAT EVERYTHING IS HAPPY ALL THE TIME LIKE AN ACADEMIC DISNEYLAND, BUT I KNOW THAT THOSE WHO SPEND THEIR PROFESSIONAL LIVES HERE DO SO BECAUSE THEY LOVE YOUR KIDS.

AND I WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT, BECAUSE I WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT IN YOUR GRIEF, WE ARE SENDING ALL THE LOVE AND SUPPORT THAT WE CAN.

IN 1957, DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING SAID DARKNESS CANNOT DRIVE OUT DARKNESS.

ONLY LIGHT CAN DO THAT.

HATE CANNOT DRIVE OUT HATE.

ONLY LOVE CAN DO THAT.

IT WAS PART OF A SERMON ON LOVING YOUR ENEMIES, BUT IT IS SUCH A POWERFULLY TRUE STATEMENT THAT IT GETS QUOTED AND MISQUOTED IN ALL KINDS OF CONTEXTS.

I DON'T THINK DR. KING WOULD ARGUE WITH RECALLING HIS WORDS TODAY, BECAUSE THE GRIEF YOU BEAR IS A DARKNESS.

AND IT CAN ONLY TOO EASILY BREATHE HATE, RESENTMENT, AND EVEN VIOLENCE.

THIS KIND OF SORROW CAN TWIST OUR HEARTS AND SHUT US DOWN.

THE ONLY CURE FOR THAT DISTORTING PAIN, THE ONLY HOPE FOR FINDING LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS IS LOVE.

KING DIDN'T MEAN AN EASY SENTIMENTAL LOVE THAT FADES WITH ATTRACTION.

BUT THE HARD LOVE THAT OUTLASTS EVERYTHING ELSE.

THE HARD LOVE THAT REFUSE TO GIVE UP IN THE HARD TIMES.

THE HARD LOVE THAT PERSISTS BEYOND THE GRAVE.

IT SEEMS LIKE IT WOULD BE EASIER TO STOP LOVING AS IF THAT WERE POSSIBLE.

BUT THAT WOULD ONLY DESTROY EVERYTHING THAT FILLED AND FUELLED YOUR CHILD'S LIFE.

SO KEEP LOVING IN THE WORST MOMENTS WHEN YOU WANT TO LIE IN THE GRAVE WITH YOUR CHILD.

KEEP LOVING WHEN EVERYONE IS LAUGHING AND CELEBRATING, AND YOUR MISSING CHILD STINGS YOUR HEART.

KEEP LOVING WHEN FIGHTING FOR JUSTICE FOR YOUR CHILD.

KEEP LOVING ALL THOSE AROUND YOU.

KEEP LOVING THE BEAUTY OF THIS WORLD.

KEEP LOVING THE SOUNDS OF LAUGHTER AND JOY.

LOVE IS A RENEWABLE RESOURCE.

THE MORE YOU OFFER IT, THE MORE IT WILL BE RETURNED TO YOU.

AND THAT LOVE CAN SOOTH YOUR HEART.

IN THE PLAY AND MOVIE "STEEL MAGNOLIAS" AFTER THE FUNERAL OF THE MAIN CHARACTER SHELBY, HER MOTHER MALINE IS CRYING AND SAID I WANT TO HIT SOMEBODY UNTIL THEY FEED AS BAD AS I DO.

HER FRIEND CLARINE PUSHES WEZA FORWARD AND SAYS HERE, HIT THIS.

SLAP HER.

HAD YOU HIGH, SHE SAYS IN HER SOUTHERN DRAWL.

THIS IS YOUR CHANCE TO DO SOMETHING FOR YOUR FELLOW MAN.

KNOCK HER LIGHTS OUT.

LET GO OF ME, WEEZER SHOUTS BACK.

THE GROUP OF FRIENDS STARE SLACK-JAWED AND FROZEN UNTIL MALINE STARTS TO CRACK A SMILE AND EVERYONE BEGINS TO LAUGH EXCEPT WEEZER.

SHE TURNS TO CLARY AND SAYS YOU ARE A PIG FROM HELL AND STOMPS OFF WHILE EVERYONE ELSE DISSOLVES INTO LAUGHTER.

A FEW MINUTES LATER, MALINE AND TRUDY ARE SITTING UNDER A TREE.

MALINE APOLOGIZES AND SAYS SHE SHOULDN'T HAVE MADE EVERYONE CRY.

TRUDY, SAYS SILLY, LAUGHTER THROUGH TEARS IS MY FAVORITE EMOTION.

THE MOVIE IS ALL THE BETTER AS SOME OF YOU KNOW FOR INCLUDING JULIA ROBERTS, SALLY FIELD, OLYMPIA DUKAKIS AND DOLLY PARTON.

THE LOVE IS THE HARD KIND OF LOVE THAT PERSISTS THROUGH EVERYTHING.

THE KIND OF LOVE THAT MAKES LAUGHTER THROUGH TEARS POSSIBLE.

THAT'S THE LOVE TO HANG ONTO.

TO SHARE, TO REMEMBER, AND TO SEEK.

IT WILL HOLD YOU.

NOT FROM THE PAIN BUT THROUGH IT.

WE ARE SO GRATEFUL THAT YOU SHARED YOUR CHILDREN WITH US.

WE ARE GRATEFUL FOR THE JOY AND CHALLENGE AND HOPE AND ANGUISH THAT THEY BROUGHT TO THIS COMMUNITY.

WE GIVE THANKS FOR THEIR ACHIEVEMENTS, FOR THE WAYS IN WHICH THEY FOUND THEMSELVES AND THE WORLD AROUND THEM.

FOR THEIR FRIENDSHIPS THAT THEY MADE AND THE SUPPORT THEY OFFERED.

WE HONOR THE WAYS IN WHICH THEY STRUGGLE.

AND WE PLEDGE TO DO BETTER EVERY DAY TO SUPPORT THOSE WHO STRUGGLE.

WE CELEBRATE THE FUN AND LAUGHTER THEY SHARED.

THE REBELLION AND MAYBE EVEN A LITTLE DEBAUCHERY.

IT'S PART OF WHO THEY WERE.

KNOW YOUR CHILD, YOUR SPARTAN, WHO WAS AND IS A GIFT TO YOU, IS ALSO A GIFT TO US AND THE WHOLE MSU COMMUNITY.

THANK YOU.

[APPLAUSE] [TAPS PLAYING] [BAGPIPES PLAYING] [BAGPIPES PLAYING] [SILENCE] >> THANK YOU TO J.C. RIPLEY.

THE MUSIC PERFORMANCE GRADUATE STUDENT FOR HER PERFORMANCE OF "TAPS".

THANK YOU TO ALYSE COLLINS FOR HER PERFORMANCE OF "AMAZING GRACE."

I WOULD LIKE TO THANK ANICIA DILLARD AND MIKA VANDER WARDEN FOR CONTRIBUTING TO THE PROGRAM AS SIGN LANGUAGE INTERPRETERS.

THANK YOU FOR THE WORK YOU DO.

I WOULD LIKE TO THANKLY SUE VAN WELLSINGERS, A STAFFER.

ALMOST ALL OF YOU RECEIVED AN EMAIL FROM HER OR PHONE CALL ASKING FOR SOMETHING.

SO, THANK YOU TO LISA, I'M SURE SHE'S HIDING.

SHE DOESN'T LIKE TO BE OUT FRONT.

NOW THAT OUR TIME TOGETHER IS DRAWING TO A CLOSE, WE WANT TO THANK EACH OF YOU FOR JOINING US TODAY TO HONOR OUR SPARTANS, YOUR SPARTANS.

BEING A SPARTAN MEANS BEING PART OF A GLOBAL FAMILY.

ONCE A SPARTAN, ALWAYS A SPARTAN, NO MATTER WHERE THE JOURNEY TAKES US OR THE LENGTH AND TIME OF THAT JOURNEY.

YOUR SPARTAN IN YOU WILL BE FOREVER IN OUR FAMILY.

WE'LL HAVE A RECEPTION FOR THE FAMILY MEMBERS TO SHARE REFLECTIONS.

IT WILL BE HOSTED IN THE GREENHOUSE RIGHT OUT BACK AT 3:30.

WE'LL HAVE STAFF THAT WILL HELP DIRECT YOU THERE.

IT'S FOR THE STAFF MEMBERS TO BE ABLE TO TALK TO EACH OTHERS AS YOU ARE THE ONLY ONES WHO UNDERSTAND WHAT HAPPENED.

BEAUMONT TOWER WILL TOLL FOR EACH OF THE STUDENTS AT 3:15 P.M. WE KNOW WE HAVE A DISTANCE FROM BEAUMONT.

SO WE WILL DO OUR INTERPRETATION OF BEAUMONT TOWER AT THE END.

AS A REMINDER, TAKE A SAPLING OF THE TREE PLANTED BY BERKEY HALL THAT PRESIDENT WOODRUFF DISCUSSED.

THE TREE IS A VEGAS GRANDIFIOLA, KNOWN AS AMERICAN BEECH, NATIVE TO MICHIGAN.

THE PLAQUE WITH YOUR SPARTAN'S NAME SHOULD BE AT THE TREE BY NOVEMBER.

WE'LL LET YOU KNOW WHEN THE PLAQUE IS PLANTED.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE THE AMERICAN BEECH TREE AT THE WEST SIDE OF BERKEY HALL WE HAVE GOLF CARTS AVAILABLE WHERE YOU CAME IN FOR A RIDE AND MAPS TO TAKE YOU OVER.

IF YOU HAPPEN TO GO ON YOUR OWN, IF THERE IS A GREEN RIBBON TIED TO THE AMERICAN BEECH SO THAT YOU CAN FIND IT.

THE ALSO, IF YOU WOULD LIKE, WE HAVE A SPARTAN FLAG SIMILAR TO THIS ONE FOR EACH OF THE FAMILIES.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO TAKE A SPARTAN FLAG, PLEASE SEE THE STAFF AT THE TABLE AT THE BACK BY THE TREES.

THANK YOU AGAIN FOR BEING WITH US TODAY.

[BELL TOLLING] [BELL TOLLING] [BELL TOLLING] [BELL TOLLING] [BELL TOLLING] >> AGAIN, THANK YOU FOR BEING WITH US TODAY.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE A FLAG AND YOUR TREE TO YOUR RIGHT, IF YOU WOULD LIKE A RIDE IN A GOLF CART OVER TO THE WEST SIDE OF BERKEY HALL, THEY ARE OUT FRONT.

AND FOR THE FAMILIES, WE'LL BE MEETING IN THE GREENHOUSE SO THAT YOU CAN SHARE TIME AND FRIENDSHIP WITH EACH OTHER.

AGAIN, THANK YOU ALL FOR BEING HERE TODAY.

♪ [MUSIC] ♪