HUNTINGTON -- Saturday morning was filled with pomp and circumstance, honor and recognition and all of the formality academia can muster on its biggest day of the year.

But perhaps Marshall University Provost Sarah Denman, who is retiring, said it best by cutting to the chase.

"It's about the students," she said.

That's almost true. Some members of the university's class of 2008 might argue that Marshall's 171st commencement at the Big Sandy Superstore Arena was all about the parents watching the students.

"This is for him; I wanted to do it for him," said Heather Meadows of Milton, pointing at her father as she adjusted her cap and gown for another photo.

"Otherwise, I'd just as soon not sit through it all," she added with a laugh.

Meadows received her bachelor's degree in social work Saturday. Her father, Linford Meadows, couldn't have been more proud to watch his daughter walk across the stage.

"It's the best feeling in the world," he said. "And it's a great accomplishment. She did all of this on her own and worked her way through."

Less than half of the 2,600 Marshall students who received degrees participated in the actual commencement ceremony. Many chose to participate in their individual school ceremonies, of which there were several Saturday afternoon. Still, the arena was nearly packed to capacity with relatives and friends who came to see the graduates walk.

"It's emotional and exciting," said Karen Kinnier of Lynchburg, Va., who had come with her family to watch her son, Drew, receive his bachelor's degree in communications.

Drew's stepgrandmother, Sue Parker, had come from Delaware to attend the event with the family.

"It's a big deal," she said. "I drove all the way here."

While the families might have enjoyed the ceremony more than the graduates to some degree, that doesn't mean the students themselves didn't understand the importance of the event.

"I'm the first one in my family to graduate from college, and my family wanted me to walk across the stage," said Wes McClanahan of Mingo County, who received his bachelor's degree in secondary education Saturday. "(The ceremony) may mean more to them, but I'm proud of myself, too. I'm glad to get my degree. I proved to myself that I could do it."

McClanahan was one of a multitude who stood during the ceremony when Marshall Board of Governors member A. Michael Perry surveyed the group for first-generation college students.

"That's very much a part of who we are at Marshall University," said Perry, who was the first member of his family to earn a college degree. "And it makes a difference not only in the lives of those students but in the communities they come from."

State Senate President and Lt. Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin, the guest speaker at Saturday's event, urged all of the students receiving degrees to take advantage of the world that has been opened to them through their educational accomplishments.

"The challenge is to recognize and seize the opportunities that will present themselves for the rest of your lives," he said.

He also encouraged persistence, saying that will be the mark by which the graduates will measure their success.

"The true test of your character will be if you chose to remain defeated" by life's trials, he said. "Those who pick themselves up are not failures. The only failures are those who quit.

"The ability to begin again is one of the most needed and untaught skills in life," he added. "The most successful person here is the one who will have to try again many times."

Marshall President Stephen Kopp told the graduates he believes they are ready to meet those trials that wait ahead.

"During your time here at Marshall, you have learned to observe the world with more discerning lenses, yet with eyes and hearts that see and feel with greater compassion, greater understanding and greater insight about the complex challenges ahead," he said.

Kopp urged the students to never stop learning, saying education will always be with them.

"It will be an all-time affair for you until your time on this earth is done," he said.