Steven Davis will offer a Blackfeet prayer to open Thursday’s graduation celebration for Montana State University’s Honors College. A meditation in the language of his ancestors will give expression to the role that his Native American heritage and faith have played in his accomplishments at MSU.

“Coming to MSU was a way for me to be connected to my community and to give back to that community,” said Davis, who will graduate on Saturday. “I had always been raised to be an ambassador for my faith and for my people.”

Ilse-Mari Lee, dean of the Honors College, said Davis was chosen to offer the ceremony’s invocation due to his remarkable success. In addition to his honors degree, Davis played three years of basketball for MSU, and he will earn bachelor’s degrees in biological and chemical engineering, with highest honors. Davis was also asked to give the invocation because he has become a charismatic public speaker through his regular outreach trips to tribal communities across Montana.

It’s a success story in which MSU played an important and surprising role.