News
Graduation Day Celebrations
May 16, 2022
More than 400 萌妹视频 graduates received their degrees during three commencement ceremonies on May 6. Heartland Arena hosted both the Grand Island and Hastings campus graduations while the Raider Fieldhouse hosted the Columbus Campus commencement.
Keynote addresses at the Columbus and Grand Island campuses were respectively delivered by 萌妹视频鈥檚 Outstanding Alumni Award recipients, Karen P. Pesek and Cody M. Gulbrandson. Troy and Kelsey Hofmann, Hastings Campus alumni award recipients, were recognized at the Hastings Campus graduation while the keynote address was given by Dr. Candace Walton, 萌妹视频 vice president of innovation and instruction. Here is a recap of each ceremony.
Columbus
Pesak addressed 94 graduates and shared her story of enrolling at 萌妹视频 nearly two decades ago as a newly arrived Mexican immigrant with very limited English language skills. However, with hard work and determination she earned a Phi Theta Kappa scholarship and transferred to Wayne State College and earned a public accounting degree, which opened a huge door.
鈥淚 got a job offer in my senior year from an international corporation and I found myself jet-setting all over the United States and the world,鈥 said Pesek. 鈥淢y work sent me to assignments in Spain, Mexico City, New York and Chicago. I was living the dream.鈥
In 2013, Pesek and her husband, Ross, whom she met at 萌妹视频, founded the True Potential Scholarship, which focuses on opportunities for immigrants to pursue an education at any community college in Nebraska. To date, True Potential has granted more than 150 scholarships.
Pesek closed her address by saying, 鈥淣o matter where you come from and no matter what your goals and dreams are, from here you can go anywhere, and you can do anything. I have seen it. I have done it and I know you can do it, too.鈥
Grand Island
A record 203 graduates of 萌妹视频-Grand Island attended commencement at Heartland Arena.
Gulbrandson, a 2000 graduate of Central City High School and a nontraditional student at 萌妹视频, went onto earn a doctor of veterinary medicine degree from Iowa State University. Today, he is the owner and veterinarian at Beaver Creek Veterinarian Services in Albion.
鈥淏e yourself, be persistent, be committed, love what you do,鈥 said Gulbrandson. 鈥淭here is no doubt that with the relationships you have made, the education that you have received and the tuition that you have saved, that you are poised to be successful.鈥
After the ceremony, Traci Coleman of Grand Island, who earned an occupational therapy assistant degree, said, 鈥淚鈥檓 super excited. There was a lot of blood, sweat and tears and I鈥檓 glad to say that I am finally a gradate.鈥
Coleman also spoke about spending most of her time at 萌妹视频 amid the COVID-19 pandemic. 鈥淭hat was an adjustment. I had some classes that got switched to online. There is some stuff that I missed out on, but overall, our teachers did a great job of adjusting and I still feel like I got a really good experience.鈥
Hastings
Get back and give back was the theme of Walton鈥檚 keynote address, which was delivered to the 133 萌妹视频-Hastings graduates in attendance.
鈥淓ventually, you鈥檙e going to have to get back home,鈥 said Walton, who explained that getting back even applied to the students who lived at home during their 萌妹视频 years. 鈥淵our community and your family need your skill set back in your hometown. Please get back to your hometown and make a difference.鈥
When it comes to giving back, Walton encouraged the graduates to help those who helped them make it to graduation.
鈥淵es, you did a lot of the work on your own, but some part of your success is because of someone else,鈥 Walton said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a debt of gratitude to give back to those that supported you. If you don鈥檛 have money right now, you have time and you have talent. The collective skills of the graduates can change the world right now.鈥
The Hofmanns own After Hours Grafix and Urban Chic Boutique in Aurora and both are 2011 graduates of 萌妹视频-Hastings. Kelsey earned a business administration degree and an entrepreneurship certificate while Troy graduated with a dual degree in machine tool technology and drafting and design technology.