Childhood Friends Graduate During NSU’s Largest Fall Commencement

TAHLEQUAH When Chris Denton and Terry Hodges met during sixth grade at Coweta Elementary School, they had no idea they would eventually reconnect at Northeastern State University.

Its amazing how our lives have crossed over the years, said Hodges. Due to all of lifes twists and turns, we've come back together to graduate together.

The two long-time friends graduated with bachelors degrees in Elementary Education at NSUs fall commencement ceremonies held Saturday, Dec. 16. The ceremonies were the largest fall commencement in the history of the institution.

Denton and Hodges have fallen in and out of each others lives through the years. Hodges moved to Phoenix, Arizona during their sophomore year in high school. He moved back to Oklahoma around age 24, and ended up sharing an apartment with Denton for a while in Coweta.

Hodges moved back to Arizona, where he took a job cooking professionally, before returning to Oklahoma again at age 27 to attend Oklahoma State University Okmulgee. He then moved to Texas, where he worked in the heating and air conditioning industry. After moving back to Tulsa, Hodges met and married his wife Heather.

Denton worked in the trucking industry for over 11 years. When he married his wife, Susan, Hodges was his best man.

Both men were influenced by their young children to go back to school to become educators. They both enrolled at Tulsa Community College, before transferring to NSU.

We ran into each other during Terrys first semester on campus, said Denton, who had started at NSU one semester earlier. we've helped each other study over the years. we've relied on each other and knew we could count on each other.

Now that both men have graduated, they plan to remain close friends while substitute teaching and pursuing their masters degrees.

Denton and Hodges were part of the largest fall commencement in NSUs history. Around 750 candidates were eligible to receive their degrees during the three graduation ceremonies held at Jack Dobbins Field House.

Fall commencement began in 1998 to provide December graduates a formal opportunity to celebrate their achievements without having to wait until spring commencement in May.