The News-Messenger – FREMONT — The whirlwind of emotion during the 41st commencement services at Terra Community College rivaled the whirlwind outside.

Keynote speaker U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, spoke over the sounds of pounding hail and roaring wind.

Brown spoke to a crowd of graduates of all ages and backgrounds. The youngest graduate was 17, and the oldest was 58. Seven earned associate degrees before receiving their high school diplomas, which they will acquire later this month.

Brown began his speech lightheartedly, informing basketball fans that the Cleveland Cavaliers were ahead by 19 at that point in the NBA playoffs. He promised to keep his talk short, so everyone could catch the fourth quarter.

Then his speech turned poignant. He shared a story about his mother, who died a little over a year ago. As she lay dying, he said, she asked Brown to sing a song they used to sing in church.

He said he sang four stanzas to his mother. When he finished she told him, "Sherrod, that was nice. But you really sound better in a group."

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