MORE THAN A DIPLOMA, TWO GRADUATES TAKE FIRST STEPS TO CHANGING THE WORLD

On May 6, during spring commencement, the class of 2023 and hundreds of attendees listened to two of the newest, most influential Indiana State University alums.

Corey Christman and Xandria Futrell were undergraduate student speakers and shared personal stories of resilience, sacrifice, and success.

Christman graduated with a bachelor of science in nursing with a minor in Spanish. At Indiana State, he was a President’s Scholar; the president of the Student Nursing Association, and helped the club win ISU’s 2022 Philanthropy Organization of the Year award; and a member of the College of Health and Human Service’s Dean’s Board.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Christman selflessly gave his time to administer free vaccines to Vigo County residents. His philanthropic efforts also include building homes through Habitat for Humanity.

Christman is staying in the Wabash Valley; after graduation, he accepted a job as an Intensive Care Unit nurse at Union Hospital in Terre Haute and plans to pursue a degree to become a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist.

Futrell is best known for being an accomplished leader and community activist. Her legacy as a Sycamore includes founding the Urban Arts Initiative, a student organization dedicated to creating a culture that changes communities through arts and service. As a campus and community leader, she participated in Miss Indiana State University Scholarship Program and served as a community engagement coordinator for the Sycamore Food Pantry. She also hosted Sycamore Session talent shows.

She graduated with a degree in Multidisciplinary Studies that she designed with her faculty, focused on the social determinants of health. She plans to attend graduate school and one day create appealing communities that ensure happier and healthier living.

In different fields, but with same mission in mind, these students want to transform the world and leave it a better place than how they found it. Christman and Futrell are shining representations of what it means to be a Sycamore.

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