TERRE HAUTE —
Great expectations filled the seats of Hulman Center on Thursday evening as Ivy Tech students left graduates.
The 44th commencement ceremony of Ivy Tech Community College’s Wabash Valley Region brought a full house to the downtown arena, and speakers encouraged graduates to aim high.
Mike King, chief announcer of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network and media specialist at Union Hospital, told this year’s graduates their hometown is the perfect place to be successful.
“There is greatness in this building tonight,” he said, invoking memories of Larry Bird and other basketball players who dribbled across those very courts.
Raised in North Carolina, King moved to Terre Haute in 1986 for a job covering sports at WTHI-TV, then a CBS station owned by the Hulman organization. Over the years, his career has evolved from sports reporter to author, entrepreneur and one of the most recognizable voices in America as the official announcer of the Indianapolis 500, as well as media specialist at Union Hospital.
King said he owes his success and the existence of his family to Terre Haute, as all of it started here.
“This place has given me everything I have,” he said, encouraging the night’s graduates to nurture their own careers in the Wabash Valley.
But some sobering statistics stand in the way, he said, remarking that 50 percent of the drug tests conducted by local employers through Union Hospital wind up failures.
“You cannot become one of those people,” he said.
The Wabash Valley needs to continue drawing employers, and those employers need a clean workforce. King said he wants his own children to stay in the Wabash Valley instead of moving elsewhere, and for that to occur, growth is a must, he said.
Thomas J. Snyder, president of Ivy Tech Community College, credited the perseverance of a graduating class marked by diversity. From full-time students with part-time jobs, to part-time students with full-time jobs, some of the graduates had labored 10 years to earn a 2-year associates degree, he remarked. All involved overcame some form of adversity to be there Thursday night.
“You all have a story to tell,” he said, encouraging them to share their experiences with others, and encourage them to likewise seek educational opportunities at Ivy Tech.
Brian Boyce can be reached at 812-231-4253 or brian.boyce@tribstar.com.
Local & Bistate
Related Photos
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Tribune-Star/Jim Avelis Encore: Brenda Spiering gets a hand with her cap and gown from classmate Barbara Wilson. The two Ivy Tech Community College Wabash Valley grads received an Associates Degree Thursday evening. They are both graduates from ITCCWV from the late 1970's in the Allied Health field.
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Tribune-Star/Jim Avelis Graduation day: Ivy Tech Community College Wabash Valley graduate Tomeeka Gross decorated her mortarboard with symbols of her new profession, Medical Assistant.
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Tribune-Star/Jim Avelis Class: Ivy Tech Community College Wabash Valley Grad Aaron Dolph chats with fellow grads at their commencement ceremony Thursday evening in Hulman Center.
Discussion
Ivy Tech students celebrate graduation
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