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Jackson, Tenn. � As each name was read and graduates crossed the
platform, milestones were passed, challenges were conquered and dreams
were made one step closer to completion.
Anyone who has passed through Union's halls and walked through the university's campus will tell you that it is the people that make this university what it is. Excellence-driven and Christ-centered, Union remains people-focused as it plays a small part in directing the futures of so many who pass through its doors.
Carmon Scott Duck, a resident of Jackson, Tenn., would agree. Completely blind, Duck has attended classes at Union for the last five years in pursuit of his bachelor of science in business administration. For 3 of those years, he took only nine hours a semester, but for the last two years, he was able to take twelve. "The faculty and staff have really been supportive and helpful," said Duck, while waiting in his cap and gown to get in line to process in with the other graduates. "The job opportunities are already pretty limited for me without a college degree. I hope that by earning this degree, I can make myself more marketable as an employee." Duck said that though his time at Union was very challenging, he would really miss the people. One story that is sometimes typical, though always special, is when a student meets their spouse at college. Lee Tankersley and Lili Myatt are just one of the many Union couples who will marry this summer following graduation.
"We've dated for almost the last two years," said Myatt, "and I'm really looking forward to moving on to new things together as a couple." Said Tankersley, a Christian studies graduate, "When I think of Union, I'll always think of it as the place where I met my wife and Dr. Kelvin Moore." Though meeting your spouse at school may not be considered very unusual, graduating with your mother could be. Aaron Campbell, a music graduate, had the distinct honor of receiving his diploma on the same day as his mother, Nancy Campbell. Nancy and her husband serve as missionaries to Japan for the International Mission Board and have done so for the last twenty years.
"It's been a once-in-a-lifetime experience for a mother to go to school with her son," says Nancy, as her eyes filled up with tears. "God just worked everything out." Nancy, who began her degree in 1970 at Carson-Newman with her husband, had taken some classes at North Jackson State in 1976 and a few courses in Japan, but was able to complete her degree while on furlough this year with her family. Aaron was happy that his mother was able to finish. Nancy, who had a minor in music, and Aaron both performed a joint-recital together earlier in the spring. "It's been a good experience," said Aaron. "You spend your whole life learning from your parents so it was neat to share this last year with Mom." Aaron will serve as the music minister at First Baptist Church in Halls, Tenn., and will attend seminary in one year. Nancy, incidentally, was the first of the mother-son duo to graduate, receiving a bachelor of arts in communication arts and Christian studies. |
