|
Date 5-12-06
Contact David Tisdale 601.266.4499
WITH PHOTOS
Hattiesburg—University
of Southern Mississippi graduate Sally-Ann Roberts Craft is familiar
with the oft-used acronym that stands for her alma mater – USM.
On Friday, the WWL-TV news anchor and New Orleans media personality
found another use for it in her commencement address.
“They (graduates)
are USM - unique, strong and mighty,” said Craft, who spoke at two
graduation ceremonies at Reed Green Coliseum on the university’s
Hattiesburg campus. She is also scheduled to speak at Southern Miss
Gulf Coast graduation exercises on Saturday at 10 a.m. at the Mississippi
Coast Coliseum in Biloxi, not far from her native Pass Christian.
Craft brought
with her a “draft” notice to graduates, calling on them to be an
army of recovery for the region devastated by Hurricane Katrina.
“The power’s on,” Craft said, urging the graduates to use the power
of the education they’ve gained at Southern Miss to help Mississippi
and Louisiana recover from what has been described as the greatest
natural disaster in modern times.
“So many of
these students and their families have been through so much, but
they can contribute so much to help us make a comeback. I want them
to know that they can be a mighty army to help our region rebuild,”
she said.
Craft has worked
tirelessly in her role as a news anchor to cover the impact of the
storm on her viewing audience in the New Orleans area, despite losing
her own home in the storm. She said the Crescent City and surrounding
area, as well as the Mississippi Gulf Coast and other affected areas,
are at a crossroads.
“Some important
decisions are going to be made soon (during the recovery period)
that will affect generations of residents,” Craft said. “There’s
still a lot of debris and abandoned cars, homes that are destroyed,
and many are still waiting to be able to move back. There are a
lot of people who are in a state of limbo.
“But at the
same time, if you talk to people long enough, you start to see a
sense of hope. They truly believe we will bounce back.”
Southern Miss
seniors Ashlyn Hamilton of Jackson and Roosevelt Armstead of Greenville
anxiously awaited Craft’s address and to receive their diplomas
at the first ceremony, which was held at 2:30 p.m. The second graduation
exercise was set for 6:30 p.m. Approximately 1,600 applied for graduation
this spring.
“I’m very happy,”
said Armstead, who received a degree in tourism management. He credited
his experience at Southern Miss for preparing him both academically
and as a person. “I learned a lot and matured here,” he said, citing
professors Cheri Becker and Catherine Price for helping him reach
his academic goals. “I loved my professors.”
Hamilton, who
plans to use her degree in real estate to work on the Mississippi
Coast as part of the area’s economic recovery, expressed both relief
and disbelief that she was graduating. “It’s finally here,” she
said of her special day. “It’s been a lot of hard work, but it hasn’t
sunk in yet that it’s over.”
SOUTHERN
MISS COMMENCEMENT—Approximately 1,600 University of Southern
Mississippi students are receiving diplomas during two ceremonies
on the Hattiesburg, Miss., campus Friday, and an additional ceremony
to be held at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum in Biloxi, Miss., for
Southern Miss Gulf Coast students Saturday. Southern Miss alumnus
and Pass Christian, Miss., native Sally Ann Roberts Craft, a popular
news reporter and anchor for WWL-TV in New Orleans, Lou., is the
commencement speaker for all three ceremonies. (Southern Miss Public
Relations photo by Steve Rouse)
Click to enlarge
Click to enlarge
Click to enlarge
Click to enlarge
Click to enlarge
| 
