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Beth Van Hove had been waiting 27 years for this moment.
As holiday music played and visitors began to crowd Hearnes Center for the MU College of Arts and Science graduation ceremony Saturday, Van Hove stood anxiously in the General Studies line with her cap in hand.
- Erica Wright waits for her name to be called during the MU College of Arts and Science commencement ceremony Saturday.
- Lauren Williams shows her support for her friend Kyla Winn as Winn walked across the stage during the MU College of Arts and Science commencement ceremony on Saturday. Winn graduated with a bachelor's degree in biological sciences.
- The crowd settles in as the College of Arts and Science's commencement ceremony begins Saturday.
- Charlie Richey chats with friends in Hearnes Center Fieldhouse before the start of the MU College of Arts and Sciences commencement ceremony on Saturday.
- MU Chancellor Brady Deaton speaks to the crowd of graduates during the MU College of Arts and Science commencement ceremony Saturday at the Hearnes Center.
- Tommy Saunders leads the crowd in an M-I-Z Z-O-U chant at the end of the MU College of Arts and Science commencement ceremony Saturday at Hearnes Center. Saunders, a wide receiver for the football team, graduated with a bachelor's degree in general studies.
“I’m a little nervous,” she admitted. But all nerves aside, she was proud.
Van Hove began her college career in 1981. After a year and a half, she took time off to get married and start a family. “By taking a break, my parents thought I’d never finish,” she said. “But, the support from my husband helped get me through.”
For the past 7 years, Van Hove has attended evening classes offered by MU. The evening classes, which she praises as being beneficial because the instructors are "more geared towards adults," gave Van Hove the opportunity to work towards her degree.
In a room full of almost 500 fellow graduates, she now stood as a mother of five, a wife of 25 years and a recent MU alumni.
Within minutes of arriving and checking in, dozens of graduates had found seats on the floor, heels were taken off and celebratory cheers were let out toward the back of the room. Some graduates debated each other about which side their white tassel should be on, while others joked about how unflattering their black gowns were.
At the end of the biological sciences line, MU graduates Stephanie Carr and Kyla Winn chatted about their journey’s end.
“I’m happy, but a little sad it’s over,” Carr said. This statement sparked a playful argument about how “sad” the moment really was.
“I’m not that sad,” Winn said with a smile. “It was hard … very, very hard.”
Hard as it was, Winn was about to become the first person in her family to graduate college.
As the lines began to move, the graduates positioned their caps — tassels to the right — and entered the ceremony.
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