Andrea (Ball) Shelton graduated from OSU in 1990 with a degree in corporate health and fitness. Her husband, Randall Shelton, graduated last May with a degree in electrical engineering technology. And her son, Alan Ball, is on schedule to graduate in December 2007 with a double major in accounting and finance.

Even though their graduation dates are years apart, Andrea wanted her family to experience the traditional ring ceremony together last April.

"We do a lot of things together as a family and this seemed appropriate," she says. "It was a way to acknowledge our family's achievement in striving for and reaching the same goal."

Andrea saw OSU's traditional class rings for the first time during homecoming last fall. She ordered yellow gold rings for herself and her son and the white gold version for her husband. All three traditional rings are engraved with images of the OSU seal, Pistol Pete and the Edmon Low Library.

"On the inside of each ring are the words, 'Connections For Life,'" Andrea says. "During the ring ceremony, they reminded us that we'll always be connected to OSU by these rings and as OSU alumni."

Andrea began her freshman year at OSU in 1974 and was a member of the OSU swim team before putting her education on hold to raise a family with her first husband, Alan Ball Sr., who holds bachelor's and master's degrees in education from OSU.

Even while living in Texas in the 1990s, Andrea always returned to Stillwater for OSU's homecoming celebrations.

"The ring ceremony was a special moment for us," she says. "Even though we represent different generations and different majors, it was a celebration we could share together."

For this family, the rings signify a bond as both OSU alumni and as a family.

"We wear our rings all the time. Even my son, who isn't a jewelry-type person, wears his ring every day," she says. "Every time one of us leaves the house, we say, 'Are you connected?'"