I know a spot that I love full well
'Tis not in forest, nor yet in dell,
Ever it holds me in magic spell.
I think of thee alma mater.
K-S-U! We'll carry the banner high.
Ever it holds me in magic spell.
I think of thee alma mater.
K-S-U! We'll carry the banner high.


He earned his bachelor's degree in journalism and mass communications (and a minor in business) from K-State on Saturday.

On Saturday, Brent continued a family tradition that started nearly 80 years ago. My Grandpa Neelly graduated from Kansas State College in 1933. (He started school at K-State in 1926 and began playing football, but he had to take a few years off in between to return to the farm to make enough money to finish).
My parents attended K-State and were there on Saturday to see their fourth grandchild graduate.

Two more of my parents' grandchildren are current K-State students. It remains to be seen whether the last grandchild (a high school sophomore) and the first great-grandchild will follow in the family footsteps.
I'd say the chances are good. There is more than a little purple in their blood.
As I sat at Bramlage Coliseum and waited for the graduation ceremony to begin, I couldn't help but think of tradition.
The younger generation of K-Staters has switched their mortar board tassels from right to left in Bramlage, though Bramlage wasn't there when most of us were K-State students.
But for Brent's big day, it was particularly significant to have this transition occur at Bramlage. He spends a lot of time there. As a student intern with K-State Sports Information, he's probably spent more time in Bramlage than he has in the classroom.
But, in truth, the K-State Sports Information job has been the biggest classroom of all. He got to be on the front lines when ESPN's College Game Day came to town (a thrill for a guy who lives and breaths college sports.)



So, for this Mom, it seemed appropriate that Bramlage was the backdrop for Brent's graduation on Saturday. Though the strains of K-State's alma mater made me a little teary-eyed this time around as I faced yet another change as a Mom, I was thankful: Thankful for tradition and thankful for family.
Hail! Hail! Hail! Alma Mater.
This makes me teary-eyed! Congratulations and exciting to go on for the Master's degree.
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