Provost Offerman speaking to the award winners, “Together, they are a portrait of Excelsior College.”


GRADUATE AWARDEES
Tina Aown — Montag Award. Aown completed her MS nursing degree 24 years after earning her AS in nursing from Excelsior (then Regents) College, which was her “springboard to a satisfying nursing career.” At some point, she explained, “I knew I had to go back to school.” Mother of four children, Aown was “excited to re-find the College.” Completing the program provided “immediate benefits.” Her career has blossomed. She is “fully engaged in participating with improving health care and dealing with health care issues,” and with the confidence she’s gained, she truly believes she can be “part of the solution.”


MSgt Michael Baker — Gregg Award. Baker called the College the “best decision” he could have made and described an experience so positive that his wife decided to enroll after he succeeded and was starting her first Excelsior course in August. He admitted that balancing everything was difficult, but “Excelsior College gave me the opportunity to finish something I had started years ago.”


Charles Kern — Craig-Erhardt Award. In accepting his award Kern spoke of Catherine Craig-Erhardt’s devotion to education. As a U.S. Marine, he thanked Excelsior for the flexibility and for the way the College “always stands ready to educate the members of the U.S. military.”


Carolyn McCartney — Matheney Award (and graduate speaker at Commencement). McCartney said she had always dreamed of being a nurse, but when her initial attempts failed, she was “shattered.” She spoke of “the difference between dreams and goals,” explaining that dreams are what you “think about, but goals are what you achieve when you take action.” McCartney took action. At 56, she came out of Excelsior (“forever grateful”) as a top-notch student — and RN — 40 years after she first dreamed of becoming a nurse.


Daniel Tulip — Mahoney Award. Tulip spoke of his military experience and the difficulties he had with completing his degree, until Excelsior College recognized his training and all of the credit he’d earned through other colleges. He thanked the Excelsior staff, “who were so professional and helpful” along the way.


Marcie Tulip — Student Support Award (wife of Dan Tulip, Mahoney Award). Tulip said she was “touched by everyone’s stories” and spoke of her surprise, learning her husband had nominated her and that she’d been cho- sen. In the closing line of his nomination, Dan wrote, “I will attend graduation, and on that day, nothing would make me prouder than to see my wife recognized for the selfless support that she provides on a daily basis.”


Marie Wrinn — Kinsinger Award. Wrinn spoke of her involvement with hospice and congregate care and described how her experiences, including those with Excelsior College, led her to start her own non-profit charity called No Child Dies Alone, whose mission is to provide end-of-life care for children in developing countries.


ALUMNI AWARDEES
Dwayn Hanford — C. Wayne Williams Award. Hanford said he was happy to “join the ranks of those who received this award before me,” and was proud to acknowledge, “I’m the first in my family to graduate high school, let alone, college!” Hanford has been in the U.S. Army for 21 years, “the greatest job in the world!” As many have before him, Hanford pointed to the ESO (Education Services Officer), who inspired him to complete his col- lege degree. A dedicated volunteer with the Boy Scouts of America and Little League of America, he said he looks forward to the day when the kids he has worked with will come up to him years from now, as adults, and remember him “as an inspiration.”


Jeffrey Stewart — Alumni Achievement Award. Stewart noted it had been thirteen years since he had walked in a graduation ceremony. He described his long journey to become a full-time professor and practicing endodontist, saying, “I can’t help but think of the lessons I learned from the people along the way, especially those from the experience that I had at Excelsior (then Regents) College.” As a touching addition to his talk, Dr. Stewart announced that his mother, too, had become an Excelsior College grad. “Six years after she started, she completed her degree and RN; she will be walking in the graduation ceremony with me tomorrow.”


To learn more about the awards and their recipients, go to www.excelsior.edu/graduateawards and www.excelsior.edu/alumniawardwinners.

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