As family and friends lined up for the 2019 Montclair State University undergraduate ceremony on May 24, graduates rushed inside the Prudential Center and awaited to turn their tassels on to the next chapter of their lives.

President Susan Cole addressed the graduates and their families with some Montclair State related history. Along with the current graduates, a group of graduates from the class of ’69 were celebrating their 50th anniversary. In the class of ’69, 1,182 students graduated.

“This year the universities graduates will number 5,235, and you will be among that number,” President Cole said addressing the crowd of seated students.

Next who took the stage was commencement speaker, Kevin P. Bradley, who is on the advisory board for the Feliciano School of Business, is a former graduate of Montclair State and also serves as the executive vice president and chief financial officer of U.S. Steel Corporation.

“You will begin to understand that without taking risk, there can be little to no reward,” Bradley said. “You need to be thoughtful when it comes to risk management, but simply avoiding risk will severely limit your full upside potential.”

As the advice continued, Student Government Association (SGA) President Serefina Genise addressed the undergraduate class of 2019. Genise urged her classmates to recognize the foundation that Montclair State faculty has provided to them.

“Think about those who have been beside you and lifted you up and pushed you to keep you going when all you wanted to do was give up,” Genise said.

While students eagerly lined up in the halls of the arena before the commencement, they reflected on their times at Montclair State, those who helped…