Middle Tennessee State University graduates embarked upon a new future at the Spring Commencement ceremony at Murphy Center on Saturday.
The university celebrated 2,440-plus members of the first class of 2024 with a trio of commencement ceremonies Friday and Saturday.
Award-winning country singer/songwriter and MTSU 2013 graduate Michael Hardy, known professionally as HARDY, delivered the commencement address.
MTSU President Sidney McPhee also gave remarks and presented graduates with their diplomas.
HARDY soared to new heights in 2023 with the release of critically acclaimed half-country, half-rock sophomore album, “The Mockingbird & the Crow.”
He has written 15 No. 1 singles, including two-time Platinum chart topper “One Beer,” featuring Lauren Alaina and Devin Dawson, the platinum Dierks Bentley and Breland collaboration “Beers On Me,” and two-time Platinum duet “Wait in the Truck” featuring Lainey Wilson.
Graduate and undergraduate students in the university’s College of Behavioral and Health Sciences and College of Liberal Arts kicked off the festivities with a 3 p.m. Friday ceremony inside Murphy Center’s Hale/Earle Arena.