DUBOIS – More than 30 individuals made the transition from student to alumni, as Penn State DuBois Fall Commencement Ceremonies concluded at DuBois Country Club on Thursday evening.
Graduates earned degrees in Business, Human Development and Family Studies, Earth Sciences, Engineering, Wildlife Technology, Occupational Therapy Assistant, Information Science and Technology, and more.
Chancellor Melanie Hatch conferred degrees. She thanked the family and friends of graduates for contributing to the success of their loved ones.
“They would not be here today without the love, support and encouragement of you, their family and friends,” Hatch said. “We are confident that our graduates will make a difference. We, the faculty and staff of Penn State DuBois, are proud of each and every one of them.”
Hatch then introduced guest Nancy Micks, who offered the commencement address.
“Nancy, you are exactly the kind of person we hope our students will emulate,” Hatch said.
Micks most recently served as director for the Greater DuBois Area Chamber Of Commerce. She retired in June after 17 years with the chamber. She has served as director or officer with numerous area organizations, including the DuBois Free Clinic, Penn Highlands DuBois, PA Chamber of Commerce Executives, DuBois Renaissance Inc., DuBois Rotary Club, DuBois Area United Way, North Central Regional Planning & Development, the Bucktail Council of the Boy Scouts of America, NW PA Great Outdoors, Clearfield County Tourism, DuBois Village, Clearfield County Collaboration and Prevention Board, Clearfield County Industrial Development Authority and the Winkler Gallery of Art & Education.
Micks also served as a member of the DuBois City Council and became state-certified for Planning and Economic Growth in Pennsylvania.
In her commencement address, Micks stressed the importance of service to community. She credited her father for instilling a love of service within her, recalling his efforts as one of the founders of the DuBois United Fund, which would later become the DuBois Area United Way.
“I was able to see my dad teach not only me, but many others how to truly feel and receive a quality of life and peace by providing service,” Micks recalled. “To this day, I have found I am unable to walk away from those teachings.”
Micks happily passed a portion of those teachings along as she shared her own experiences, aiming to inspire graduates to continue to serve.
“As you began here at Penn State DuBois, one of the first things you experienced during freshman orientation was a ‘Day of Service.’ As your schooling continued, so did the conversations about how service fits into all of our daily lives,” Micks said.
“As you graduate and move forward to the future, I’d like to challenge each of you to use your education and knowledge to further your lives into success. Always remember the word ‘success’ has a variety of meanings: accomplishment, gain, happiness, prosperity, to name a few.
“While the word service offers us assistance, benefit, and work, it sounds to me like these words all seem to work together: service, success, leadership. They all mesh together, forming a bright, serious, fun, and giving adult; like a graduate of Penn State DuBois.”
Born in Brookville, Micks moved to DuBois as a child when her family relocated here in 1950. It was at this time that her parents, Paul and Dorothy Reitz, moved their business, Riverside Markets, to DuBois and established the company’s new headquarters.