May 10, 2025
Diplomas and ‘dream jobs’: Nearly 1,300 Ferris State graduates celebrate their journey from commencement to careers
Nearly 1,300 Ferris State University students celebrated their newly earned degrees, and many of them are heading right to rewarding careers or, like Holland Snyder, their “dream jobs.”
Ferris State awarded degrees in four ceremonies on the Big Rapids campus and one on Grand Rapids for Ferris State’s Kendall College of Art and Design on Friday and Saturday.
Snyder is putting their new bachelor’s degree in Environmental Biology to use right away at Devil’s Tower National Monument in Wyoming, where they will embark on a career as a park ranger.
“I’ll be giving interpretative tours and leading constellation programs,” they said, showing off a mortar board elaborately decorated with a glass mosaic of the Earth and four plastic animals. “It’s my dream job!”
Ferris State President Bill Pink students like Snyder come to the university for that very purpose, whether their dream job is in welding, cyber security, construction, or any of the other fields that have near perfect placement rates within their industries.
He noted the university recently earned elite “Opportunity University” status by the Carnagie Foundation and American Council on Education, reflecting that Ferris State is accessible for students who leave with degrees leading to good paying jobs, earning more than grades from peer institutions.
Pink noted Ferris State’s recent athletic success – including a third national football title in four years – but noted champions are found across campus.
“You’re looking at champions right now!” he told a packed Wink Arena. “It’s not just about athletics when you talk about building champions. This university has been building champions for 140 years. And the champions are in the classroom, they’re in the labs, they’re on the field, they’re on the court – it doesn’t matter. Every one of our Ferris State Bulldogs are champions.”
Some, like Ashley Curtis of Jackson, said their route to success had some twists and turns and a little extra time. But she proudly earned her Master of Business Administration – with highest distinction.
Curtis, 32, started her education at Jackson College, then got a little distracted as she started a family. But she was determined to restart and finish her degree through online classes and keep going.
“I took some exams with my son in my lap,” she said, pointing to four-year-old son Bennett, who sported a shirt reading “My Mommy is Graduating – MBA Class of 2025” with a bulldog wearing a mortar board.
Now she’s ready to head back to the classroom, but as a professor. She has a job interview next week.
KCAD student Drue McPherson told graduates and guests at his ceremony that his journey that started in 2004 also took a little longer than he first expected.
“My path led me away from KCAD for eight years, where I have spent time as a salon owner, educator, and director for an Italian color brand, traveling the world and building connections with creatives, hairdressers, salon owners, models, and designers,” said McPherson, who earned a Master of Architecture degree. “During this journey, I, like many of my fellow peers, have found Kendall College of Art and Design to be more than a place of learning, discovery, and experimentation. It became—for us creatives, designers, artists, and academics — a home.”
But the loudest applause of the five ceremonies was for the five students who were part of Ferris State’s Ready for Life program, which prepares students with intellectual disabilities and autism for independence and job skills.
The five were the first in the program to earn a certificate of completion at Ferris and received a standing ovation and sustained cheers as they made their way to the stage.