Montana State University Northern graduates class of 2022

Montana State University-Northern held its 2022 graduation Saturday, where Northern Chancellor Greg Kegel wished students well and congratulated them on their achievements.

During the ceremony Kegel said this year the university is graduating 263 students with a collective 377 degrees in various fields.

He thanked the faculty and staff of Northern for guiding the students to this milestone and asked that students remember them fondly.

He said the one message he wants to instill in them most is to keep caring deeply about everything they do, themselves and each other.

Kegel said it's impossible to reach a milestone like this without caring, and asked that students keep doing that even when it's difficult.

After years of a global pandemic, he said, and two years of altered graduation ceremonies it's great to be back to, more or less, normal and he thanked students for persevering through this difficult time.

"I can't tell you how good I feel today," he said.

Before the commencement speaker and the presentation of the student's degrees Kegel honored Northern's Golden Graduates, 24 former students from the classes of 1970, 1971 and 1972 who were asked to come back and be honored by the institution.

"These graduates are an inspiration to all of us," he said. " ... I'd like to extend to them a very special welcome."

Special thanks was also given to the honors students, those with department distinction and those who served in the armed forces, as well as the friends and family who've supported students in their journeys to get degrees.

After his address Kegel introduced the commencement speaker, Republican State Sen. Brian Hoven, who he described as a long-time advocate and supporter of Northern since long before his time in the Legislature, providing assistance to various programs and projects at the institution.

Hoven began the speech by telling the students how lucky they were to be born in the U.S. and that five billion people on the planet would gladly trade places with all of them.

He said the U.S. has more freedom, opportunity, power and prosperity than any other nation due to its embrace of capitalism which he said is under attack from without and within by socialists and communists.

He encouraged students to invest money in the stock market, specifically recommending that they get involved with organizations like the Investment Company of America, promising them wealthy retirements if they follow his advice.

Hoven also provided the graduates life advice pulled heavily from the books "How to Win Friends and Influence People" and "Bring Your A Game to Work: 7 Values that Will Make Every Employer Want to Hire You and Fight to Keep You," the former of which he said should be part of Northern's curriculum.

He said success depends entirely on ones ability to interact with other people, something the graduates have received no instruction in.

Paraphrasing advice from the books he said there are three things graduates should never do if they want to interact well with others.

"Do not criticize, condemn or complain," he said.

Hoven said students should instead compliment people for things they do well, smile even when they don't want to, and show a genuine interest in others.

He also encouraged them to develop a work ethic that goes beyond working hard to stand out from the rest of their fellow employees.

"You want to separate yourself from the other people," he said.

Hoven said this includes dressing up instead of dressing down, working during breaks and before they're required to come in, never taking personal calls during work time lest they steal from their employers and working hard enough to earn the vacations and homes they desire.

He said if they don't like the rules at a job they should either leave, advance high enough in the organization to change them, or embrace them.

He also recommended that graduates sit down with their supervisors to talk to them about what is expected of them and what they expect of their supervisors.

Hoven said if they follow advice like this they will rise through the ranks, and with that comes a need for better and better communication skills, so joining a Toastmasters Club may be a good idea to help them get out of their comfort zones.

After the speech Kegel praised Hoven and added some advice of his own for women who aspire to be CEOs: smile and laugh more.