480 receive degrees in ceremony at SRU
SLIPPERY ROCK — Graduating from college isn't just for 20-somethings.
Kelly Hart, 38, was one of the 480 people who graduated from Slippery Rock University on Saturday.
Despite many of her classmates being younger, she enjoyed her college experience.
“It was not as bad as I expected. I was treated as if I was their age,” said Hart, a health service administration major from Grove City.
At the ceremony at Morrow Field House, President Cheryl Norton greeted the graduates, their families and faculty.
“This is absolutely a wonderful day for everyone assembled this morning at Slippery Rock University,” Norton said.
She said that graduates now will take a leap out into the real world to start their careers.
“At Slippery Rock University, we have prepared you for this leap,” Norton said.
Robert Taylor, chairman of the SRU council of trustees, said that holding a degree is more cherished now than in the past.
“In today's world, it is harder to earn a degree from Slippery Rock University than ever before,” Taylor said.
And Hart is happy to finally have a degree. Out of high school, she went to the Community College of Allegheny County for two years but did not earn a degree. She started at SRU in 2011 and soon will begin working at the Grove City Medical Center.
Andrew Driscoll, 22, a safety management major from Cranberry Township, graduated in 3½ years.
“It flew by. It seemed a lot shorter than high school,” Driscoll said.
Starting in June, he will be a risk control analyst at CNA Insurance in New Jersey. He said he is excited to move away and start his career.
“I'm ready to explore; be on my own; have an adventure,” Driscoll said.
Danika Grom, 23, a public health major from Butler Township, said her time at SRU also went by quickly. “It went super fast. Too fast,” Grom said.There is one thing she said she would not miss about college.“Working without pay,” Grom said, referring to taking tests, studying and other similar tasks.She interned at the Butler YMCA during college. She will work part-time there while looking for a full-time job in the Pittsburgh area.Chelsea Grubbs, 24, an art education major from Chicora, also will miss the college years.“It was great. Many memories have been made,” Grubbs said.She commuted to school, and said she would not miss the 35 minute drive, but she said she definitely would miss hanging out with friends during “studio time,” basically a three-hour art studio session class.“Very relaxed, and you get to be creative,” Grubbs said.Kristen Barkus, 24, a safety management major from Butler Township, said she would miss her classes and her professors.Now that school is out, she will look for a job, but she is not desperate. She said she wants to find a position that she likes and will stick with.“I'm going to take my time,” Barkus said.Jessica Protzman, 24, of Clinton Township graduated with a master's degree in secondary education for biology. It took her 5½ years to get it, and she said she is happy to be finished with homework and tests.“It will be nice to be done with that,” Protzman said, ironically noting that she will be giving homework and tests in her career as a teacher.
