Friday was Commencement Day at Michigan State University.
Thousands of students said good-bye to Spartan Country, and said hello to the "real world."
Among the featured speakers at the Breslin Center today, a former graduate, Governor Gretchen Whitmer.
The Governor received her bachelor's degree from MSU in 1993 and a law degree in 1998.
Whitmer spoke to the advanced degree graduates and gave them some inspiring words before they received their degrees.
Earlier in the afternoon, just under eight thousand students celebrated taking the next step.
They were honored by interim MSU President Satish Udpa.
He was joined by the school's board of trustees and other spartan dignitaries.
As Fox 47 discovered the commencement ceremonies wrap up a lifetime of memories for graduating Spartans.
Said Mike Gaglioti, an MSU Horticulture student, "It's kind of surreal. It happened fast. Faster than I ever thought. I graduated in three years, put in some work, stayed here a summer. It was worth it."
While Tess Cannon, a biomedical engineering student said, "It was emotional. You definitely get a little bit nostalgic, but also everyone's looking forward to the next steps. We're ready to move forward, but we'll never forget Michigan State."
In this year's graduating class, more than five-thousand students received their bachelor's degrees.
Around ninety of them with a 4.0 grade point average or better.
Former Spartan quarterback Kirk Cousins gave the commencement speech today.
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