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Ball State grandparents celebrate granddaughter's commitment to Ball State in adorable video

Jill and Mark Surface donned their original Ball State cheerleading and football gear to celebrate their granddaughter Madison's commitment to the university.
Jill and Mark Surface donned their original Ball State cheerleading and football gear to celebrate their granddaughter Madison's commitment to the university.

MUNCIE,IN(NewsLink) - When a local Indiana teen finally committed to Ball State University, everyone in her family was excited, especially her grandparents.

Madison Surface, a Ball State freshman studying telecommunications and journalism, committed to the university last friday after getting anxious about her original first choice school. 

“I had originally planned to attend the University of Cincinnati up until last week. I began feeling anxious about Cincinnati so I prayed for confirmation that UC was where I was supposed to be. In the days that followed, I started seeing information about Ball State online and getting magazines in the mail with stories about the major I wanted to pursue. Then, this past Friday, I made the choice to attend BSU.”

While Surface is glad she made the decision because it will allow her to be closer to her family, she said the main reason she made the choice was for Ball State’s Journalism Department. “It’s one of the best in the country and speaks for itself, honestly!” Surface said.

When Surface made the switch, she couldn’t wait to tell her mom Charity Surface, who graduated from Ball State in 1995. Then, they both decided they needed to call Madison’s grandparents, Jill and Mark Surface, to tell them about her decision to switch.

Jill, who graduated from Ball State in 1967, and Mark, who graduated in 1968, celebrated over the phone, but had a bigger celebration planned. The two put on their old Ball State gear, Jill with her cheer sweater and Mark with his football jersey, and performed the fight song on video. Afterwards, they announced their granddaughter as the newest addition to the Ball State family, much to Madison’s surprise.

“So, my mom and I called my grandparents to let them know my big news and they celebrated over the phone. I thought that would be it, but that same night I was sitting at home folding my laundry and all of a sudden, my grandparents swing open the door and come through performing the school fight song all out.”

Madison then posted the video to Twitter, where it has received over 400 retweets and 6,000 likes. You can watch the video on Madison’s Twitter here: 

https://twitter.com/MadisonSurface/status/1158929523930521601

For any comments about this story, contact the author at emharless@bsu.edu.