Mallory Rivard: Portrait of a 2017 SVSU graduate

On the day Mallory Rivard walked across the stage at Saginaw Valley State University's May 2017 commencement ceremonies, she already had one foot set in her future career: inspiring young minds as a classroom teacher.

After four years at SVSU, Rivard said that graduation was bittersweet. She doesn't plan to stray too far from home, though, after accepting a full-time teaching position at Bay City Public Schools.