Commencement 2010 is Underway!

Commencement 2010 is in full swing on Montezuma Mesa and for the first time many graduating students and their families are celebrating at the new Parma Payne Goodall Alumni Center. A giant “Home of Aztecs for Life” banner across the front of the building welcomes the almost 200 graduating students who have joined the SDSU Alumni Association as lifetime members. A plane is flying above campus all weekend towing a banner reading, "Congratulations!  Join the SDSU Alumni Association."  

A plane flies above the Parma Payne Goodall Alumni Center May 21 trailing a banner reading, "Congratulations! Join the SDSU Alumni Association."

All 2010 Aztecs for Life receive special admission to celebrations on the alumni center grounds throughout the weekend. In addition to complimentary graduation photos of themselves and their families and friends with the Alumni Aztec statue in the alumni center rotunda, they receive commemorative gifts, exclusive admission to a shady snack and beverage area on the lawn of the alumni center and entries for a chance to win an Aztec beach cruiser or diploma frames.

New Aztec for Life Ava Lillard graduated with a political science degree and is going into a paralegal program this fall, then plans to go to law school to become a corporate attorney. She and her large family from Stockton posed for photographs, then enjoyed a chance to rest and swap commencement stories before a planned dinner celebration and sight-seeing in San Diego.
 

2010 graduate Ava Lillard, center, poses for a graduation photo with friends and family members.

“I absolutely love San Diego State,” says the political science graduate. “As an Aztec for Life I always plan to come back and to give back to the community.”

Lillard says she appreciates the work of the SDSU Alumni Association in helping 2010 grads celebrate their special day.

“This is awesome,” she observed of the Aztec for Life setup. “It’s wonderful to have somewhere to sit down in the shade. It’s so hard to get a group picture of my family too, so it’s good that the Alumni Association is doing it.”
 

2010 graduate Hassan Ibrahim becomes and Aztec for Life.

While Lillard became a lifetime member of the Alumni Association at GradFest in April, Hassan Ibrahim became an Aztec for Life right after his commencement ceremony.

“I’m a big Aztec sports fan. I come to all the basketball and football games,” the 28-year-old bank branch manager explained of his decision to join the Alumni Association. “You have to support your school and I want to stay involved and contribute.”

With a BA degree in liberal arts and geography, Ibrahim is one of more than 10,000 Students participating in commencement this weekend. Ceremonies continue through Sunday.