For these CSU students, graduation involved one final question - and a ring

At Columbus State University’s fall commencement ceremonies, most students were happy to finally come home with their degrees.

But some students came home with a little something extra, too - an engagement ring. Now those students will have an unforgettable memory to commemorate the end of their undergrad years - and the beginning of something new.

“She always talks about CSU and all it meant to her. She was in the servant leadership program. She was really involved,” said Alvin Cade, who proposed to his fiancee Rahven Maddox after graduating last Friday. Maddox had graduated from CSU a few years ago, and was working as a teacher, Cade said.

“We both met at CSU in 2014,” he recalled. “I didn’t know her personally, but one of her friends was a friend of mine, and I asked, is it possible for us to hang out?”

He says she was reluctant at first, because he’d just joined a fraternity. But they started dating, and when she graduated, they stuck together. He stayed in school, studying communication. When he finished this year, he knew it was time.

“I just thought, why not propose at graduation?” he said.

The proposal was captured on video and shared by CSU. “It was really exciting. It was really cool, we had a lot of family and friends there who wanted to celebrate with us.”

One student said she it was a complete surprise when her fiance Cody Bucker popped the question.

“After the commencement was over my mother called me to come meet up to take pictures. Upon arrival, my fiancé was there and everyone in my family said they wanted a picture of us. He handed me flowers and a card. We took a picture, then he told me he wanted me to read the card and take another picture,” she said.

While she read the card, he knelt down behind her. When she turned around, he had opened his shirt, and it said “Will you marry me?” and asked her to check yes or no on the card.

“I said yes and signed my signature,” she said, and he slid the ring on her finger.

For Alyssa Nevels and her fiance Wayne Russel, it was a special moment because they had both of their families there to celebrate along with them.

After she graduated, Nevels said she looked around trying to find her family. When she eventually found Wayne, he had everyone stand to the side, she said.

“He made everybody go off to the side, we were just standing there taking picture, then they said lets take a picture of y’all together, then he said ‘Well, there’s one more thing I have for you.’”

That’s when he got down on one knee.

“I wasn’t expecting it at all. It was kind of like love at first sight, and we knew the day would come, but I had no idea when he was going to do it,” she said. Now the two say they’re planning on moving to Savannah so Russel can finish his studies in marine biology.

“It’s pretty cool to know we weren’t the only ones out there to have that day turn into something grander than what it already was!” Russel said.

This story was originally published December 20, 2017 at 7:32 AM with the headline "For these CSU students, graduation involved one final question - and a ring."