Public universities have a responsibility to advance the common good, Indiana University President Michael McRobbie told the matriculating Indiana University Northwest class of 2015 Thursday afternoon.
Talking to the 790 graduates, McRobbie told them they’ve been preparing to “become the next generation to discover, to understand, to pursue what is right and good” and to apply everything they learned.
“May you continue to strive to bring wisdom to human affairs, to toil for justice and to advance the common good,” he said. “And may you work together to build a future ever brighter and more celebrated than today.”
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Tim Bugno Jr., of Merrillville; and Caitlin Donnelly, of Chesterton, sought out School of Business Director John Gibson to help them put on their MBA hoods before the ceremony started. Both said they consider Gibson “the parent” of the program and will miss the cohesiveness they all shared during Saturdays working toward their degrees.
“Classes were always super-entertaining,” Bugno said. “But trying to work full-time and go to school was rough.”
“Getting home after 10 hours of work and taking late-night tests or powering through your homework is not something I’m going to miss,” Donnelly added.
Kathryn Malone, of Crown Point; Kenisha Peden, of East Chicago; and Kristy Swets, of St. John, agreed that working toward their master’s degree in social work while trying to balance family was probably the worst part of the experience. But all three are starting to see returns on their investment.
“People have been approaching us through our internships about jobs,” Malone said.
Miriam Rivera, of Merrillville, is just starting her journey toward higher positions in social work with her bachelor’s degree. The single mom of three had been working toward her degree for five years.
“This is just a stepping stone for me; I’ll be starting on my (master’s degree) in the fall, and then I’ll go for my Ph.D,” Rivera said. “My kids are all here, so this is definitely a teaching moment for them.”
IUN Chancellor William Lowe said that of the 790 graduates, nearly 75 percent of them are women, 40 percent are students of color, nearly 90 percent worked while earning their degrees, more than one-third are older than 30 and close to half of them were the first in their families to graduate.
Michelle L. Quinn is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.