Success stories aplenty at Ivy Tech graduation

Students urged to remember where they’ve come from and to give back

By Kacie Foster
H-T Staff Writer
May 13, 2006

Susan Harder has been working since 2001 for her second and third degrees.

“It came easier 20 years ago,” said Harder, 44. “Maybe young brain cells tend to absorb information better. Or maybe as you grow up, you’re harder on yourself.”

Harder was the first of 267 students to walk across the stage at the Ivy Tech Community College-Bloomington commencement Friday night at the Indiana University Auditorium.

Harder graduated from Vincennes University in 1982 with a degree in general studies and worked as a florist for about 20 years. She said she wanted to do something different, so she enrolled at Ivy Tech.

Now a teller at the IU Credit Union, Harder earned two degrees Friday night, one an associate of applied science in accounting and another in business administration.

Keynote speaker IU-Bloomington Chancellor Kenneth Gros Louis began his address by reading Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken.” He then invited graduates to ask themselves if they create change or respond to it.

After reading Frost’s “Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening,” he encouraged the audience to consider the traveler in the poem.

“Like the traveler, we need to pause to think about the changes in our lives,” he said. “Each of us must pause to think about where we’ve come from.”

Sisters December and Jennifer Hendrickson were among the “success stories” described by Ivy Tech-Bloomington Chancellor John Whikehart.

December, 26, completed her degree in December and works in the accounts receivable department at Ivy Tech. She is the mother of a 5-year-old son.

Jennifer, 27, earned her degree in nursing this semester and will work at Bloomington Hospital.

Both were picking up their diplomas Friday night.

“It’s a family away from home,” Jennifer Hendrickson said of Ivy Tech. “They helped with everything.”

Following Gros Louis’ address, Ivy Tech Dean of Student Affairs Diana Jacobs announced Beth Pless had been chosen distinguished alumnus of the year.

“Be sure to give back,” Pless said to the graduates. “That’s how you grow.”

Thirty-seven students earned associate degrees in nursing and 31 earned technical certificates in practical nursing. As they walked across the stage, they paused as a faculty member affixed a pin to their robes.

Thirty percent of the graduates earned their degrees with honors and 10 students earned summa cum laude honors for attaining a 4.0 grade-point average, according to a news release.

Whikehart said the stories of individual students are “amazing,” noting many students work full or part time and many have children.

“This is my favorite day of the year,” Whikehart said before the ceremony.

“This beats my birthday.