Page 13 - Laker Connection Fall 2013

“I walked onto this campus a minority in ethnicity, immigra- tion status, gender, and as non-traditional student. But, I grad- uated summa cum laude, Sigma Theta Tau nursing honors, and I was the 2012 Chancellor’s Award Recipient and Most Out- standing BSN student. Additionally I was offered a Master of Science in Nursing full scholarship and full time employment as Clinical Instructor.”
Or 2012 Homecoming King Tony Yaacoub, a native of Beirut, Lebanon, who became president and founder of Clayton State’s International Student Association, a DEEP Peer edu- cator, a member on the Student Fees Committee, a member of the Financial Club, a dean’s list student and an attendee and presenter at several scholarly mathematical conferences throughout the Southeast, and the winner of the William A. Watt Award and the Mathematics Outstanding Senior Award from the College of Information and Mathematical Sciences. That’s pretty successful.
Students listen to Muhammad Rahman’s lecture in the College of Informa- tion and Mathematical Sciences where programs like Wi2STEM encour- age women to pursue the STEM disciplines.
Anousouck “Andy” Sayavong, profiled elsewhere in this issue of The Laker Connection, was the recipient of the College of Arts & Sciences 2012/13 Award for Excellence in History. He’s a refugee from Laos, by way of Thailand, who came to the U.S. at the age of seven.
Fred Snow, vice president – U.S. Aftermarket for Hella, Inc., in Peachtree City, graduated from Clayton State in May 2013 with an MBA. Shortly thereafter, he was accepted into the Hella development program that took him to Bad Driburg, Germany.
“I am very excited about this, and this is great news... looks like about 50 participants in a 27,000 employee global com- pany. This program is designed to only run every two years, so pretty exclusive company. My MBA experience will cer- tainly be helpful with showing well in this program, and I want to thank you for all your help,” he wrote in an email to one of his professors, Dr. Gary May.
Or another May 2013 graduate, Marcus Bartlett, who origi- nally entered college with a GED, and graduated Clayton State with a topological index for molecules named after him, after completing a double major in mathematics and chemistry, and all at the age of 30. Of course, Bartlett is a virtual kid com- pared to Judi Kanne, who earned her BSN from Clayton State last year at the age of 69.
At the other end of the spectrum, the 2013 fall semester at Clayton State saw the University enroll a record-breaking 430 dual enrollment students, meaning more than five percent of Clayton State’s student body consists of high school students. As Associate Vice President for Extended Programs Dr. Kevin Demmitt put it in addressing the Arts & Sciences faculty at the start of the semester, “they might be the best student in your class.”
So, yes, Clayton State students come from a wide range of backgrounds and experience. Perhaps another alumnus said it best, “Diversity at Clayton State is just natural, it’s seamless. In every one of my classes I benefited from the life experi- ences that my fellow students brought with them, and they from mine.”
Non-traditional students represent 39 percent of the student body.
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