MSU 2017 Fall Graduation

STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI) – Hundreds of students are walking across the stage, to soon start a new chapter.

Mississippi State graduates got their bachelor’s, master’s, and doctorate degrees on Friday.

This morning’s commencement speaker was neurosurgeon, Dr. Allen Sills, who is a MSU Alum, and the Chief Medical Officer for the NFL.

Graduate Kaitland Simpson says today is a very proud and special moment for her, because it’s one of the many defeated odds in her life.

“I was born at five months. I weighed a pound and ten ounces. Five percent chance of survival. If I survived, I would be severely retarded. I’m also legally deaf and autistic.”

Simpson’s future plans include going to graduate school in Nebraska, to get her master’s in child development.