JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - More than 1,000 students are earning degrees from Jackson State University this year.
The university held its undergraduate commencement Saturday at Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium, with graduates addressed by Byron Pitts, ABC News anchor and chief correspondent.
Pitts is urging graduates to use their degrees as an opportunity to change the wider world. He cites the achievements of JSU alumni, including Robert Clark Jr., the first African American elected to the Mississippi Legislature since Reconstruction, former U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige and NFL Hall of Famer Walter Payton.
Cheryl Pearson-McNeil, a senior vice president for Nielsen, gave the keynote address at JSU’s graduate commencement ceremony Friday at the Lee E. Williams Athletics and Assembly Center on campus.
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