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Page 202—WALWORTH COUNTY WEEK—728-5505—Tuesday, May 31, 1998 ‘Education 's a means to a future’”’ was the mes sage given the 905 Gate way Technical College graduates during the 17th annual combined cam puses commencement at the UW-Parkside “You have been given a special opportunity be cause of your education to make importa‘nt con tributions to this commu nity and to this country,”’ said Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Shirley Abrahamson. The first woman to sit on the State’s highest court said, ‘‘We must work for a world free of bigotry, a world free of poverty, a world free of drugs and crime and a world filled with peace.” She went on to tell the candidates and 2,000 spectators that ‘‘it is vi tal that each of you par ticipate in community activities and community service and in formulat ing public policies. Indi viduals can make a dif ference and when the roll is called, I hope that each of you is that individual. ‘*The best way to en sure the survival of our country and its principles is through an informed and caring people. The people must govern this country; wisdom from the bench, wisdom from public officials is no sub stitute for the common sense and moral commit ment of a concerned citi zenry,’’ the justice with seven honorary doctor of law degrees stressed. ‘“‘While each of us might differ as to politi cal and economic values, one of the great virtues of the education you have received is that you will respect the right to dif fer,’’ Abrahamson con cluded. Representatives of graduates from each of the campuses had com ments to offer, with Krystal Ferry noting that in Elkhorn instructors were ‘‘always there to help, and were willing to go out of their way to make things easier.’’ The East Troy student added, “They always under stood. The understanding grew through friendships that we established. ‘‘My experience at Gateway,”’ Ferry noted, ‘was very positive and I know that the rest of the students feel the same way. I feel confident that I can go out into the work force and succeed.”’ The other two repre sentatives were Cori Harstad, from the Ra cine campus, and Jeff Strehlow, from the Keno sha campus. There was one other Elkhorn cam pus student recognized in Steve Doolittle, Delavan, who was both a local and Gateway district STAR program winner. The program recognizes indi viduals for character, leadership, extracurricu lar activities and occupa tional competence. Diplomas and degrees were handed out by Emily Mueller, chair man of the Gateway Dis trict Board, and Dr. John Birkholz, college presi dent. More than 16,000 stu dents have graduated from Gateway since the 1971 merger of the three counties to form the vo cational, technical and adult education district. This past year the three campuses had more than 25,000 student enrolled in various programs, semi nars and continuing edu cation classes, with an average student age of 30. More than 60 percent of all students were women. The college of fers more than 60 differ ent majors.
Newspaper Details
Janesville Walworth County Week
Janesville, Wisconsin, US
Tue, May 31, 1988
Page 20
Full Page
Clipped by
Colleen B.
WI, USA 06 Jan 2026
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