Dear Students and Alumni,
As Thanksgiving approaches, I would like to express my appreciation for what I am thankful for here at CSU. Your enthusiasm for this University is amazing. It is the main reason so many of your co-workers, family, and friends end up attending CSU at some point. I would like to
thank all of our graduates and guests for attending the 2016 commencement ceremony, open house and alumni social. Of course none of these events would be possible without our amazing faculty and staff who work together to make these occasions so special for more than 3000 in attendance.
News correspondent and host of What Would You Do, John Quiñones, was our guest speaker at the ceremonies. He spoke about all of the obstacles he overcame such as a language barrier and financial struggles his family experienced, neither
of which deterred him from realizing his dream since he was a young boy of being on TV. His story resonated with many graduates in attendance who overcame their own obstacles to reach the goal of a college education.
It was wonderful 
to meet alumnus Jim Shaw who has been entertaining his classmates in the CSU Facebook group with clever photos and captions of Sir Maximus. Jim graduated with an MS in Emergency Services Management and is already an active member of our alumni association. We look forward to continuing our relationship with Jim and all of our CSU alumni.
With more than 6,000 students graduating already this year, we know many of you were not able to attend commencement; however, you can still watch the recorded ceremonies here.
We are also happy to announce our most recent Safety 
Scholarship recipient, Adam Reed. Adam will be pursuing his bachelor’s degree in Occupational Safety and Health while training for the role of Safety Training Coordinator on a drilling rig. We look forward to having Adam join the Knight family! Check out all of CSU’s scholarship opportunities here.
Recently we also had the privilege of traveling to Baton Rouge and New Orleans to visit some of our learning partners and host a social event for our students and alumni. It is always so wonderful to see our students and alumni meet, spend the evening discussing school and work, and build a relationship with one another. 
We feel that providing opportunities to make connections outside of an online environment is what sets us apart from other institutions. In 2017 we will be visiting even more places and we hope we are able to meet you!
Lastly, I want to thank all students and alumni for making CSU your university. To all faculty and staff, I truly appreciate your efforts to help CSU make a difference and change lives through education.
Sincerely,
Robert Mayes
President
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