Graduations 2024 (Mother’s Day) he was with us and went off to be a student at Vincennes University. He met a young lady there, was married, and went to work for her father. We also had the great joy of seeing his family reunited following the death of hi
The first weekend in May we had two grandchildren graduate. On Friday, May 3, we attended the hooding of our oldest grandson. He received a MBA from Indiana University, Kokomo. Saturday, May 4, one of our granddaughters received a Bachelor of Science from the University of Indianapolis. She is our third Greyhound graduate.
As one of the students was being hooded on the3rd behind us someone shouted, “That’s a go, mom.” While I could not see the person, from the tone of the shout, I took it to be an adult daughter. When I was a student at the Purdue Hammond Extension in the 60’s about half of the students were second career. They understood well the value of a good education and worked hard to achieve their goals. Today, many moms are going back to school to acquire the skills and certifications needed to meet the requirements for a variety of positions. Diane got a Master’s of Clinical Social Work from Indiana University, Indianapolis well after our kids had left home.
Bryce Logan, a ’24 graduate in Psychology, gave the “Student Remarks” for the 6:00 P.M. Graduation ceremony for the University of Indianapolis. As a part of his remarks, Bryce thanked all of those teachers, faculty, and staff who were a second set of mothers and fathers to him during his time at the school. One of the adults who performed this function for me when I was a student at Purdue University was Paul Stopenhagen. Paul was the director of the Wesley Foundation and was instrumental in my going into the ministry.
Very often a second set of mothers and fathers is referred to as mentors. One of the great privileges of life is to be a mentor to a young person as they set out on their journey of life. All of us need mentors if we are to make it and succeed. Being a mentor is one way of passing on to the next generation what we have received from the last generation.
For several years Diane and I were foster parents. Our first youth graduated from high school while