Melissa Bull of Pearl City, Illinois, will be the student speaker for Morehead State University’s Fall Commencementon Saturday, Dec. 13.
During the ceremony that begins at 10:30 a.m. in the Academic-Athletic Center, MSU President Wayne D. Andrews will confer degrees on more than 600 graduate and undergraduate students.
She is the daughter of Thomas Bull and Molly Lovgren Watson. She is the sister of Evan Bull and granddaughter of Winafred Lovgren.
Bull is a candidate for a bachelor’s degree in business management and Spanish.
A graduate of Pearl City High School, she was a member of the track and volleyball teams, National Honor Society, Spanish Club, choir and show choir. She was the conference champion in high jump all four years of her high school career and was named MVP at the Northwest Illini Conference track meet in 2010. Bull qualified for the IHSA State track meet in 2008 for high jump and again in 2010 for high jump, triple jump, long jump and 100M hurdles.
Aside from school activities, Bull participated in competitive power tumbling at Pierce Athletics in Freeport, Illinois, and competitive cheerleading at Elite Tumble and Cheer in Oregon, Illinois. Bull competed as a power tumbler for more than 10 years, finishing her career at the elite level. She also was a nine time national qualifier.
She enrolled at Morehead State University in the fall of 2010, where she earned a spot on MSU’s All-Girl Cheerleading squad. She won two national championships (2011 and 2014) at the UCA College Cheerleading Championships. Recently, Bull and her stunt group placed first in Partner Stunt Video Entry and have accepted a bid to the 2015 National Championships. She also was a member of MSU’s track team her freshmen year.
Bull worked as a student tutor at the Tutoring and Learning Center where she had more than 715 tutoring appointments to help more than 275 students achieve their own academic success. She also worked at the Holiday Inn Express in Morehead.
Bull maintained a 3.75 grade-point-average while working and participating on the cheerleading team. A member of the Beta Gamma Sigma fraternity, she spent a summer studying abroad in Segovia, Spain.
In April 2014, she was selected to represent the United States on the Team USA All-Girl Cheerleading squad, where she competed and won a world title at the International Cheer Union World Championships.
After graduation, Bull will seek another national championship in January. She will continue to reside in Orlando, Florida, as she has accepted an internship in hospitality at Walt Disney World.
For the commencement exercises, the grand marshal and mace bearer will be Dr. Stacy Baker, professor of music tuba/euphonium, who received the 2014 Distinguished Teacher Award.
Faculty marshals will be Dr. Frances L. Helphinstine, professor of English, and Dr. Dora Ahmadi, chair of the Department of Mathematics, Computer Science and Physics.
Student marshals will be Susan Ahmadi and Delano Sanders, Graduate Programs; Cyra Jones and Erica Eldridge, College of Science and Technology; Michael Hutchinson and Waylan Coffey, College of Business and Public Affairs; Maria Kalla and Aaron Shepherd, College of Education; Kathryn Jackson and Seth Sparks, Caudill College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences.
Ariel Snider will sing the national anthem; Rachel Wade will lead the alma mater; and MSU’s Black Gospel Ensemble, directed by Dr. Roosevelt Escalante, will perform during the commencement program.
Following the ceremony, the newest alumni will be inducted into the MSU Alumni Association Inc. by its president, Eric Howard.
Additional information on Fall Commencement exercises is available by calling 606-783-2008 or online at www.moreheadstate.edu/graduation.
