Beverly Teixeira of Stoughton said she wanted to be a school psychologist ever since her sophomore year in high school.

Teixeira, 23, said she had a good school psychologist at Stoughton High and she wants to show kids the right way and help kids who have fallen through the cracks succeed. That, she said, is why she majored in psychology at Bridgewater State University.

On Friday, Teixeira was among approximately 800 students to earn undergraduate degrees from Bridgewater State during the winter commencement convocation held in the Rondileau Campus Center auditorium.

“I’m excited and nervous,” she said. “I want to help kids get the opportunities I did.”

The ceremony included remarks from BSU President Dana Mohler-Faria; the Rev. George Winzenburg, president of the Red Cloud Indian School in South Dakota; and Giselle Valdes, a Class of 2013 graduate from North Attleboro who majored in special education.

An honorary degree was conferred upon alumnus Joshua Hamilton, who is chief academic and scientific officer at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole.

Graduate Andrea Hinojosa, 27, of Brockton said she was happy to share the moment with her son, Isaac Pena, 6, and family members.

Hinojosa, a psychology major, is a case worker at LHI, a mental health clinic in Brockton, and said she loves everything there is to psychology.

“I like working with people. You get to know them inside-out, how the mind works,” she said.

Christine Dias, 23, of Taunton, earned a bachelor’s degree in early childhood education and art education.

Dias said she started teaching preschool after graduating from high school and wants to own a preschool someday.

“I fell in love with teaching children,” she said. “I’m ready to start my big-girl job.”

Christine Michelson, 22, of Braintree earned her degree in special education and sociology.

Michelson, recreation coordinator at Brockton Area Arc, will pursue a master’s degree at Bridgewater State and wants to become a lead teacher in a special education classroom.

“I absolutely love it. Coming to Bridgewater re-instilled in me that that’s the field I want to be working in,” she said.