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Graduation and Keeping Alumni Local

This Saturday, December 17, 2022, Southeast Missouri State will hold it’s fall commencement with just over 1,000 students expected to complete their degrees and move into the workforce. We have talked many times about the impact that students have on the local and regional economy but today we will focus on the students as they become Alumni.

In their press release last week SEMO announced an expected class this weekend of 1,071 graduates. This includes 675 students completing their bachelor’s degree, 380 students completing a master’s degree, and an additional 16 specialist candidates completing their studies. The even more fascinating number is that this graduating class brings the all-time Southeast graduates’ number up to 94,564, putting them on pace to eclipse 100,000 graduates in the spring of 2024!

We have discussed previous the positive economic impact that students have on the Cape Girardeau community as they spend and live in the community while attending SEMO. The same economic impact analysis that measured the annual impact of student spending at $14.5 million also looks at the overall impact that alumni have on the economy.

According to the data reported by Emsi and Burningglass, “The average bachelor’s degree graduate from SEMO will see an increase in earnings of $28,900 each year compared to someone with a high school diploma working in Missouri.” With 675 students completing their bachelor’s degree this weekend that equates to future annual earnings of just over $19.5 Million per year, and that’s just the undergraduates.

The southeast Missouri region is best served by working hard to attract these graduates to job opportunities in the region to help grow our economy. Now is a great time to reach out to the SEMO Career Services office to connect with this great new class of graduates. Call 573-651-2583 or email careerservices@semo.edu to learn more.