This Saturday our Vandal students will leave the Kibbie Dome heading off to a bright future. More than 1,400 students here in Moscow are eligible for degrees (and more than 1,500 statewide). Before they cross the stage, I’ll remind them what I’ve already told our graduates in Coeur d’Alene and in Idaho Falls: This is the beginning of a journey, not the end.
Let me offer a couple examples of what our Vandals have accomplished on the way to Commencement. In Coeur d’Alene, Alex Parenti – originally from Boise – is earning a degree in computer science through the four-year program recently developed there. Already a working professional, he wanted to enhance his skills to carve out a new role in the region’s fast-growing tech sector. On his way to a degree, he developed exciting new apps, including a “Park-My-Ride” app to track open parking spots. He’ll bring that practical and innovative spirit to his new role as a software engineer.
Here in Moscow, senior Leah Fisk, from western Washington, is earning a degree in exercise scince and health/psychology. Fisk is a member of our Vandal swimming and diving team. She’s also a committed member of our Vandal community, volunteering her time with programs such as Circles of Caring and the U of I Ravens Scholars Program, which supports students on the autism spectrum. Having worked with Assistant Professor Joshua Bailey in the U of I Biomechanics Lab, after graduation Fisk is going to embark on a career in occupational therapy.
U of I is also proud to offer life-changing experiences for non-traditional students. Claire Miley is originally from Helena, Montana, but worked for a cereal company in Illinois and a canning company in Arizona, spurring an interest in food science. When the time was right, she found the University of Idaho to be the right place to follow her dreams and her interest in the application of continuous improvement systems to food production. She gained more experience through an internship with Darigold, and the company was impressed enough to create a new position for her, which she starts soon.
These are just three examples of Vandal excellence – I invite you to read through all our stories and videos about this spring’s graduates. Each of them represent some of the talent and passion and determination you’ll find among our 1,500 graduates. Furthermore, each of our graduates is joining a proud history that includes more than 121,000 all-time graduates.
That history goes back a long way. In my remarks to students at our statewide commencement, I mention our very first graduating class of 1896. That handful of proud students came up with a simple motto for Commencement: “Not finished, but begun.” Some 123 years later, that description remains apt. I congratulate our students, and I thank the supportive parents, family, faculty, staff and others who have helped them get to where they are this May. We look forward to seeing where they go next. | | Go Vandals!
Chuck Staben
President | | | Huckabay Foundation Makes Idaho’s Medical School More Affordable More Idaho medical students with financial need will receive scholarship support thanks to a gift from the Durward and Susan Huckabay Foundation. The gift to the Idaho WWAMI Medical Education Program will support medical students in completing their studies and graduating with less debt. Foundation Trustee John Huckabay established the scholarship in honor of his grandfather, Durward A. Huckabay M.D., who struggled to afford medical school in the 1920s while also supporting his wife and four siblings. Scholarship funds will be available starting in the 2020-21 school year. “We’re deeply grateful for the Durward and Susan Huckabay Foundation’s generosity,” U of I President Chuck Staben said. “This gift will create important scholarship support that helps our Idaho WWAMI students succeed.” WWAMI is a partnership with five Western states – Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho – and the University of Washington. For more information about giving to Idaho WWAMI, contact Brad Martin at bmartin@uidaho.edu or 208-885-0935. | | New U of I Specialist Wants to Elevate Manure’s Profile From May 7 in the Capital Press: The University of Idaho’s newest nutrient and waste management specialist, Linda Schott, grew up in rural Iowa, but she didn’t consider a career in agriculture until graduating from high school. With a strong background in math and chemistry, she took the path strongly suggested by one of her teachers and pursued degrees in agricultural engineering. With a Ph.D. almost in hand, she applied for a position with the University of Idaho. “The job description matched perfectly with what I wanted. It meshed water quality, soil and waste management,” she said. […] She started her job in January, a perfect time for getting to know people at all the winter commodity meetings and workshops. She’s also been visiting with local USDA researchers and soil and water conservation districts. One of her first assignments was to put together a producer advisory board for the university’s planned Center for Agriculture, Food and the Environment (CAFE) to better understand producers’ practices and how the university can help them, she said. Read the full article at capitalpress.com. | | U of I Professor Wins National Theatre Award for Service in Teaching Acting Professor Kelly Quinnett, head of performance at the University of Idaho Department of Theatre Arts, has received a national award in recognition of her commitment to teaching at the university level. Quinnett is the first and only recipient of the Uta Hagen Award, presented and sponsored by the College of Fellows of the American Theatre in honor of Uta Hagen, the late Broadway star who spent decades training generations of aspiring actors. The award, presented in April at the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival in Washington, D.C., recognizes Quinnett’s distinguished service as a teacher of acting and her distinguished career as a working actor. Quinnett is past chair of the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival’s (KCATCF) Region 7 and was the 1990 recipient of the festival’s National Irene Ryan Scholarship. She has appeared on “All My Children” and “One Life to Live” and numerous film and stage productions. In 2016, Quinnett was honored with the National KCACTF Special Achievement in Performance as Medea in “Medea: Her Story,” produced by U of I Theatre Arts. She has taught at U of I since 1998. | | | | |
