UNI Commencement




The BEST Philanthropy & Nonprofit Development Cohort EVER!
Back row: Kristin Teig Torres, Connie Grimm, Julie Payne, Janelle Darst
Front row: Julie Herring-Kent, Karen Erickson, Taryn Kuntz, Elizabeth Hackbarth

  It has been such a fun day! I'm so glad we could finally meet the rest of our cohort group in person. (Half of the class has been beaming in via the Iowa Communications Network so we've only seen them on screen...until today.)

I got to sit beside Adam Gress during the ceremony. He happened to be Andrew's teacher in 4th grade (last year) so that was kind of fun. A few spaces down from him sat Korie Frazier who was one of the 5th grade teachers during Kodi's last year of elementary school. Both of them were receiving their Master of Arts in Education (MAE).

It was also great to share the day with Darci Krouse, who I've worked with at Hawkeye Community College on a big grant project. Darci earned her MA in Communication Studies: Organizational Communication Emphasis. I grinned when I saw Trista Johnson get her BA in Education. I got to train her at John Deere's Product Engineering Center as I was preparing to leave the organization because I had finished my own BA and it was time to pass the student position to the next person. Two more John Deere students also earned their BAs. I've had the pleasure of getting to know them during our occasional "Girls Night Out: JD Style" meetings. Congrats to Lacy Schulz and Jennifer Nurre too!

On top of all that, I heard from great speakers, enjoyed gorgeous weather, and had lots of family there to cheer me on as well! What a fabulous day!

Now to finish those last two classes, which includes my big paper, and I will be done with my MA for real. I'll be back at it on Monday, but just for today it feels glorious to have done the "walking."