Ferris State University graduate Nate Mathewson showed off the numerous cords and stoles he earned to wear during commencement on Saturday. But tucked among the honors was a pin of a blue jay and a small stuffed red cardinal clipped to his black gown.

“That’s for professor Klatt,” he said, paying tribute to a beloved professor who passed away unexpectedly this week.

Dr. Paul Klatt, a nationally respected expert on birds and the force behind Ferris State’s Osprey Web Cam, was honored by President Bill Pink with emeriti status during Saturday’s commencement celebrating graduates of the College of Arts, Sciences and Education.

Beth Zimmer, chair of Ferris State’s Biological Sciences Department, said Klatt strived to make learning fun.

“Dr. Paul Klatt was a colleague, a professor, a teacher, a mentor, and a friend,” she told graduates and their supporters. “However you knew him, as Dr. Klatt, or simply Paul, or even PK – or Birdman – whatever you called him or whatever relationship you had with him, you knew that he cared about us and everyone he met.”

A seat in the second row was draped in black, but also with a red and black checked vest, binoculars, and a single white flower. A number of students decorated their mortar boards with stuffed birds.

Ferris State this weekend presented degrees to more than 1,800 students, with about 1,300 participating in ceremonies at the Big Rapids campus and the Kendall College of Art and Design in Grand Rapids. Another 20 students who took classes online or live on the east side of the state were invited to accept their degree at Mott Community College in Flint.

Pink noted the Class of 2024 is particularly special. Many of the students earning degrees this weekend graduated high school in 2020 at the height of the pandemic and likely missed out on a graduation with traditional pomp and circumstance.

“For many of our graduates, this is their first true graduation ceremony, they’ve had since maybe kindergarten,” Pink said. “They celebrated their high school graduation on a computer screen or in a parking lot. So today, we’re going to celebrate in a big way.”

KCAD celebrated graduates from December 2023, Spring 2024, and Summer 2024 classes with a ceremony at the Forest Hills Fine Art Center. In Grand Rapids.

Life Sciences and Pre-Medical Illustration major Sophia Forystek was honored as the valedictorian of the Class of 2024. She is the first student from the Life Sciences and Pre-Medical Illustration to be selected as valedictorian.

“I was honestly shocked. It's such an incredible honor,” Forystek said. “It makes me feel abundantly loved to be held in such high regard.”

The program was a perfect fit for Forystek, who was originally pursuing a degree in nursing when the challenges of studying healthcare online during the pandemic led her to reconsider her path.

After learning about the Life Sciences and Pre-Medical Illustration degree at KCAD, she realized that she could combine her lifelong love of art with her knowledge of anatomy, forging a career that merges STEM with the creative arts.

“Communication is key in health care, and most people can relate to the feeling of being in a in a doctor's office and not fully knowing what they’re talking about. You get overwhelmed easily when you don’t feel educated enough to make your own decisions,” Forystek said. “I really want to be involved with making it easier for practitioners and patients to communicate.”