MOLINE, Illinois — Augustana students of the class of 2016 celebrated their graduation Sunday, May 22, 2016. The Augustana Symphonic Band played music as friends and family took their seats at the iWireless Center. It was the college's 156th commencement ceremony.
At the beginning of the commencement, the Augustana Choir sang to the 533 graduates who conferred degrees. Steven Bahls, Augustana College President gave welcoming remarks to the crowd.
Jordan Franks is a 2016 graduate of Augustana. The Aledo, Illinois native runs middle distance for the university's Track and Field team. So for him, Sunday's convocation was bitter sweet.
"It's hard to put into words just how we're feeling today. In some ways we are ready to graduate just because we would get bogged down with so many papers and homework, but in some ways we're really not," said Franks.
Franks worked part-time for WQAD News 8 throughout his college career. He joins the WQAD News 8 team full-time this summer.