{"id":21056,"date":"2013-04-27T17:07:20","date_gmt":"2013-04-27T21:07:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/?p=21056"},"modified":"2015-03-11T13:29:13","modified_gmt":"2015-03-11T18:29:13","slug":"over-2000-to-graduate-at-spring-commencement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/2013\/04\/27\/over-2000-to-graduate-at-spring-commencement\/","title":{"rendered":"Over 2,000 graduate at spring commencement"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

More than 2,000 students graduated during Wright State’s 77th commencement ceremony on April 27 \u00a0in the Wright State Nutter Center.<\/p><\/div>\n

Wright State University honored more than 2,000 graduates during its spring 2013 commencement ceremony April 27 in the Wright State Nutter Center.<\/p>\n

Spring commencement includes 2,063 applications for degrees: 49 associate degrees, 1,302 bachelor\u2019s degrees, 583 master\u2019s and 129 doctoral degrees, including 107 medical degrees.<\/p>\n

The class of 2013 gives Wright State more than 100,000 total graduates.<\/p>\n

Wright State President David R. Hopkins challenged the graduating class to use their talents and skills to improve the world. \u201cWill you be creative and innovative or just follow the status quo?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhether you leave here today with a bachelor\u2019s degree in music or an MBA,\u201d he said, \u201cI am confident you have developed a fundamental skill set that will help you in any career path that you may choose.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hopkins encouraged graduates to learn the difference between making a living and making a life.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe amount of money you make or the level of success you achieve in your professional life will matter very little if you fail in your personal life,\u201d he said. \u201cIn the end, the people who love is and support us are the ones who truly matter. And they ultimately measure our success as human beings.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wright State also awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree to Janet Wolfenbarger<\/a>, the first female four-star general in the U.S. Air Force and commander of the Air Force Materiel Command at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.<\/p>\n

Wolfenbarger, who graduated from Beavercreek High School, was part of the first Air Force Academy class to include women.<\/p>\n

She encouraged the graduates to persevere through challenges and adversity. \u201cNo matter who you are or where you are, embrace every challenge before you,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Many students wore purple in memory of Kristen Fisher, who was pursuing her master\u2019s degree in English when she lost her battle with breast cancer.<\/p>\n

\u201cKristen will be remembered for her optimism, honesty, compassion, and talent as a creative writer,\u201d said associate professor Kelli Zaytoun. \u201cShe stated that when she died she wanted each of her friends to do something nice for each other and for their loved ones in her memory.\u201d<\/p>\n

Here are four inspiring stories from members of the class of 2013.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Foundation for the future<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Eastman Klepper, an Iraqi war veteran, spent 11 years in the Marine Corps Reserves before enrolling at Wright State.<\/p><\/div>\n

Eastman Klepper was a Marine Corps veteran stuck in a middle-management job when he realized he needed a change. After graduating from Wayne High School in Huber Heights, Ohio, in 1996, he went to The Citadel, but left college after his first year.<\/p>\n

More than a decade later, he said, \u201cIt was apparent I wasn\u2019t going any further\u201d in his career.<\/p>\n

After the post-9\/11 GI Bill was passed, Klepper enrolled at Wright State, majoring in history and minoring in Russian studies. Part of the University Honors Program, he completed his B.A. in three years.<\/p>\n

Klepper and his wife have been married for 10 years, and he has three stepchildren, ages 20, 17 and 14. During his first year at Wright State, he continued to work at Pepsi. He then worked part-time at night for FedEx during the last two years.<\/p>\n

\u201cI knew eventually, somewhere down the road, I could say, \u2018this will pay off, somehow, someway,\u2019\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He admits to thinking at times he would never finish college.<\/p>\n

\u201cI do believe I owe my transition in my life to Wright State,\u201d he said. \u201cWithout what I was able to accomplish here and what was available to me locally, I would probably have been trudging along and doing the same thing. This is the foundation of everything that will come after that.\u201d<\/p>\n

What comes next is graduate school. Klepper will pursue a master\u2019s in Russian, East European and Eurasian studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he received a full fellowship to pay for his studies and travel to do research.<\/p>\n

After graduate school, he hopes to work as an analyst specializing in Russian military and foreign policy for a defense or intelligence agency or a nongovernment organization.<\/p>\n

Since high school, he\u2019s had a fascination with history and military history, particularly World War II. His grandfather fought in Patton\u2019s 3rd Army.<\/p>\n

Klepper joined the Marine Corps in 1999, trained as a crewman on an Abrams tank and spent the next 11 years in the Marine Corps Reserves.<\/p>\n

In January 2003, he deployed to Kuwait and crossed into Iraq two months later at the start of the war. Klepper served in Iraq for several months and returned to the United States that summer.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Marine Corps gave me the discipline and the focus to carry on in a college environment,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Proud to follow in their footsteps<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Amber Justice is the third woman from her family to earn a degree from Wright State. Her mother, Ann Stalter, received a BSN and MSN, and her grandmother Mary Ann Stalter received a B.A. in elementary education and learning disabilities.<\/p><\/div>\n

When she graduates this week, Amber Justice will be the third woman from her family to earn a degree from Wright State and the first on her father\u2019s side to graduate from college.<\/p>\n

Her mother, Ann Stalter, received her BSN in 1983 and her MSN in 1994. Her grandmother Mary Ann Stalter received a B.A. in elementary education and learning disabilities in 1975. Mary Ann Stalter taught for 33 years.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy grandma and my mom were women who wanted to have it all\u2014an education, a career and a family,\u201d Justice said. \u201cWright State made that possible. I’m so proud to follow in their footsteps.\u201d<\/p>\n

Both Ann and Mary Ann Stalter said their family has long emphasized the importance of education. \u201cWe\u2019re really proud of Amber. We\u2019re proud because she is number three for us and she\u2019s my first,\u201d said Ann Stalter, Ph.D., RN, associate professor, RN-to-BSN and Lake campus director at the Wright State College of Nursing and Health.<\/p>\n

Justice said she always planned to attend Wright State, in part because of her family\u2019s strong connections to the university. She was also familiar with the university because as a child she would sometimes come to work with her mother. \u201cI already knew the campus,\u201d Justice said.<\/p>\n

She earned a B.S. in organizational leadership, and plans to remain at Wright State to pursue a master\u2019s degree in clinical mental health counseling in the College of Education and Human Services (CEHS).<\/p>\n

Justice was inspired to enroll in the clinical mental health counseling program after taking a course with Diane Frey, Ph.D., adjunct instructor in CEHS who also has her own practice. \u201cAfter hearing her talk about her day-to-day experiences, it just solidified that I knew I wanted to do it,\u201d Justice said.<\/p>\n

After graduate school, she hopes to run her own counseling practice. \u201cI\u2019ve always been empathetic and can imagine where people are,\u201d she said. \u201cI would like to use that to help people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Justice said she has received support and advice from many of her professors. She said she was impressed with the faculty\u2019s diverse work experience. \u201cNo matter what [career] you want to go into,\u201d she said, at Wright State \u201cyou can find someone who knows how to help you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Developing new perspectives<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Jerry Dooley, a 57-year-old grandfather and former business owner, started working on his college degree in 1976.<\/p><\/div>\n

Jerry Dooley, a 57-year-old grandfather and former business owner, says he has gained new perspectives as a result of the service-learning classes at Wright State.<\/p>\n

As part of the class, Dooley volunteered at St. Vincent de Paul, where he tutored elementary students. The class gave him a new outlook about community engagement. Volunteering in your community, he said, can make you happier and healthier.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I go there and work with children tutoring, I really don\u2019t feel like I\u2019m giving them anything,\u201d he said. \u201cI feel like they\u2019re giving me a whole lot more than I\u2019m giving them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although he\u2019s completed the class and is set to graduate, Dooley continues to volunteer at St. Vincent. \u201cAfter I went there for 11 weeks, I couldn\u2019t stop going,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

For more than 30 years, Dooley owned a retail garden center and landscape contracting business in Springfield, Ohio. After selling the business in 2006, he started working at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in the civil engineering department.<\/p>\n

In 2008, he completed his associate degree in nursery management at Clark State Community College. He began working toward the degree in 1976, but had to put it on hold because of the demands of his business and family. Dooley and his wife have four children and five grandchildren.<\/p>\n

After completing his associate degree, he enrolled in the Organizational Leadership program in the College of Education and Human Services at Wright State.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve enjoyed every moment of it,\u201d he said of his time at the university. \u201cMost of it was challenging. But the whole idea of learning still excites me, and it won\u2019t end here at Wright State University.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dooley said that while he\u2019s enjoyed his classes, he most appreciates the relationships he\u2019s developed with his classmates and faculty. These relationships, Dooley said, have helped him to question and better develop his own perspectives and ideas.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe adopt these ideas and we hold these values and these systems of beliefs,\u201d he said, \u201cand when you compare them in a larger forum with other individuals you can bring your own values to a clearer perspective and maybe adjust your thinking a little bit.\u201d<\/p>\n

After graduation, Dooley hopes to explore the options and opportunities his new B.S. degree presents. Wright State, he said, has helped him to be more understanding and improve his communications skills.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think I\u2019m better prepared to communicate, understand and relate to other people,\u201d he said, \u201cwhether they\u2019re vendors or individuals, whether they\u2019re coworkers or employees.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPerfect solution for me\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Mackenzie Buschur is among the first class of graduates of the new bachelor\u2019s degree in Technical and Applied Studies from Wright State\u2019s Lake Campus.<\/p><\/div>\n

Mackenzie Buschur grew up on her family dairy farm in Darke County. She first started working on the farm in her early teens; her first job was to bring cows into the barn for milking. By 16, she started milking the cows herself.<\/p>\n

Buschur is among the first class of graduates of the new bachelor\u2019s degree in Technical and Applied Studies (BTAS) from Wright State\u2019s Lake Campus in Celina, Ohio.<\/p>\n

This spring, six students will receive the BTAS degree, three with the agriculture concentration and three with the graphics concentration.<\/p>\n

The degree offers a mixture of general education courses, broad-based business classes and specialized training in fields of local employment, including agriculture, commerce and graphic design.<\/p>\n

Buschur focused on agriculture.\u00a0\u201cIt\u2019s such a big part of how I was raised,\u201d Buschur said of farming. \u201cIt\u2019s a family thing for me and something I\u2019ve always enjoyed and want to do for the rest of my life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Buschur is graduating at age 20. She participated in Post-Secondary Enrollment Options program as a student at Versailles High School, enabling her start college as a sophomore.<\/p>\n

In addition to taking classes, Buschur works full-time at Minton Veterinary Services, making medicine for pigs.<\/p>\n

She said she has been able to work full-time while in college because many of her agriculture classes are held in the evenings.<\/p>\n

The BTAS program, Buschur said, helped make her well-rounded and move beyond what she had learned on the family farm. \u201cI know about cows,\u201d she said, \u201cbut I didn\u2019t know about chickens or agronomy.\u201d She also picked up other skills, made connections and learned she liked the areas of human resources and employee relations.<\/p>\n

The program also allowed Buschur to stay close to home, work full-time and afford college.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was the perfect solution for me,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Wright State University held its 77th commencement ceremony on Saturday, April 27, in the Wright State Nutter Center. Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":43,"featured_media":21070,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[722,729,748,2107,743,2060,2017,744,725,727,2045,747,2039,715,746,2117,719,2061],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21056","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academics","category-around-campus","category-business","category-commencement","category-engineering-computer-science","category-graduate","category-nursing-health","category-education-human-services","category-home-news-sidebar","category-homepage-photos-and-video","category-honors-program","category-liberal-arts","category-military-veterans","category-news","category-science-mathematics","category-service-learning-and-civic-engagement","category-special-categories","category-undergraduate"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21056","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/43"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21056"}],"version-history":[{"count":58,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21056\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35823,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21056\/revisions\/35823"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21070"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21056"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21056"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21056"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}