Jason Koski/University Photography

President David Skorton speaking to staff graduates.

Jason Koski/University Photography

Staff graduates.

Family and friends joined 36 Cornell staff members at Friends Hall May 21 to celebrate the completion of their degrees through Cornell's Employee Degree Program or Tuition Aid Program. Also joining them at the 16th annual staff graduate reception were President David Skorton; Mary Opperman, vice president for human resources and safety services; and Beth McKinney, employee-elected trustee. Pianist Jeff Cox '13 opened the program.

Twenty-three of the graduates received Cornell degrees (five bachelor's, 16 master's and two Ph.D.'s). Nine graduated from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, with others from the ILR School, Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management, School of Hotel Administration, Cornell Institute for Public Affairs, and the Colleges of Engineering, Arts and Sciences, Veterinary Medicine and Human Ecology. Others earned degrees at Elmira College, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, Rochester Institute of Technology, SUNY Empire State College, SUNY Stony Brook, Tompkins Cortland Community College and University of Pennsylvania.

The staff graduates juggled the pursuit of these degrees while working at Cornell in roles ranging from administrative service manager and dining cook to medical technician and webmaster. Some also experienced the birth of their children or the deaths of family members during the same time frame.

Opperman noted that the staff graduates met their challenges with hard work, dedication, perseverance, lack of sleep and good humor, balancing work, home life and studies. They've also explored new avenues to help enhance their skills and further their careers, immersed themselves in a learning environment that is constantly changing, and managed to succeed in a time of change and uncertainty, she said. "Your degree, above all, represents sacrifice, dedication, courage and an unwavering desire to shape your own destiny," she said.

Skorton expressed his gratitude to the new graduates for their everyday contributions to Cornell, which "are hugely valuable to the university," saying, "now you've brought even more value because now you've brought even more knowledge and hard-won skills." He noted that even if the degrees received are not directly related to their work every day, the graduates have stretched their minds, improved their critical-thinking skills and gained a great sense of accomplishment.

Following their remarks, McKinney called each graduate to the podium to receive congratulations from Skorton and Opperman, as well as a small gift, on behalf of the university.