Brown Outstanding Alumnus At Ivy Tech Commencement
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
A Warsaw man who went back to school at age 35 was honored as the outstanding alumnus of the year at Ivy Tech State College's commencement ceremonies last Friday, May 10, in South Bend's Century Center.
Curt Brown, 48, was cited by Ivy Tech's North Central Region for his professional achievements, community service, and example to others that education is a lifelong process.
While working full-time as a maintenance machinist at R.R. Donnelly and raising a young family, Brown enrolled at Ivy Tech, in his words, "to try something different."
Taking two or three courses a semester, he earned an associate's degree in machine tool technology at Ivy Tech summa cum laude. Brown has used his Ivy Tech training to help his company transition to CNC machining, and to advance several levels to his current position of supervisor of operations services.
He also uses his technical skills in volunteer activities, participating in mission trips to help build essential facilities in Guatemala and Papua New Guinea. Locally, he has served in several ministry and support groups at his church and provided handyman services to Ivy Tech's Warsaw campus.
A sports enthusiast, he is an officer of two area golf organizations, a former USS swim official, and a current Level 3 swim official for the YMCA. Brown lives in Warsaw with his wife and two children.
Among the 410 graduates receiving associate's degrees and technical certificates were two Warsaw campus graduates - both single mothers - who had to learn how to believe in themselves while achieving their academic goals.
When Amy Patrick first set foot on the Ivy Tech Warsaw campus in 2001, it took the coaxing of Joann Walgamuth, then executive dean, to get her inside.
A high school dropout who admits she "blew high school off," Patrick was working in the same factory where her mother had worked for 25 years, doing the same job and earning the same money, when she realized this wasn't the future she wanted for herself or her four children.
Yet, with a dismal high school academic record and a spouse who continually belittled her intellect, Patrick lacked confidence in her ability to do college work. "Joann had to take me by the elbow and lead me inside. She kept telling me it was going to be all right." she recalls.
While going through a divorce, Patrick started at Ivy Tech, taking noncredit, skill-building classes in math, composition and study skills before beginning her credit-bearing classes. Determined to prove her ex-husband wrong in his assessment of her abilities, she set her sights at earning all A's and B's.
When she began to receive scholarships based on her academic achievements, she still lacked confidence in herself, and she kept asking herself, "Why would anyone want to give this to me?"
By the time she graduated last week with associate's degrees in accounting and business administration, Patrick was carrying a 3.5 grade point average.
She also was logging many hours of community service as a member of Phi Theta Kappa, the international honor society for two-year colleges, and serving as president of the Student Government Association--all while keeping up with four growing children and planning her recent wedding to Greg Patrick.
Recently she was hired as the assistant in the Continuing Education program at Ivy Tech Warsaw, and she also will be beginning her bachelor's degree work through Walden University, an on-line institution.
Her advice to others considering going back to school? ""Don't be afraid to take that first step because you won't regret it," she says.
As Penny Pruitt marched across the stage to receive her technical certificate in medical assisting, she had someone close to her to thank for her achievement - her son and only child, T.J., age 17, who will repeat his mother's march May 28 as a Tippecanoe High School graduate.
"There have been times I've been so overwhelmed that I wanted to give it up, and he says, 'No, mom, you can't do that. Do you have your homework done?'"Pruitt recalled.
"I'll say, 'No, I have to fix supper,' and he says, 'I'll fix dinner, you do homework.' He picks up the slack at home," said Pruitt, 36.
Pruitt, a single parent, had been doing office work for 10 years when she decided to go back to school in 2001 to make a better life for herself and her son. She settled upon medical assisting after a friend who is an administrator at a hospital in Oregon told her about the shortage of medical transcriptionists and other healthcare personnel.
She chose Ivy Tech because it met her needs as a non-traditional student, offering classes that fit around both her work and "mom" schedules.
However, juggling the roles of single parent and student while holding down a job was not the only challenge she faced.
"Starting at Ivy Tech, I was scared to death," she said, noting that she had been out of school since 1985.
Furthermore, she carried a lot of baggage with her, particularly the comments of people in her adult life who told her she wasn't good enough, that she couldn't do things right.
"I tried to hold my head up high and be positive. Still, it was hard to undertake this. I was afraid of failing," she said.
Now, with a technical certificate under her belt, her perception of herself has done a 180-degree turnaround.
"I am happy and proud of myself. I've come a long way. The whole experience has done a lot for my confidence level." she said.
Her plans now include finding a job in her field, completing her associate's degree by May 2005, and then--who knows?
"Watch out, because here I come." she said. "I've been thinking of getting into nursing. I will probably continue education because now I know I can do it!
"Go in with an open mind," she tells others in a similar situation. "Let the people at Ivy Tech know what you want to do. They will work with you to achieve your goals - that's what they are all about.
"The instructors, the people in the financial aid office, the ladies in student affairs, the people in the bookstore--everyone has helped in one way or another to make my experience at Ivy Tech a good one."
Ivy Tech State College Commencement at a Glance;
How many graduating: 410: 143 technical certificates, 274 associate's degrees. (Some students earned multiple credentials.)
Local statistics:
• 44 graduates received degrees from the Warsaw campus
• An additional 24 students from Kosciusko County received degrees from the South Bend or Elkhart campuses.
• Half the Warsaw-area graduates34received their credential with honors
• Most popular programs among Warsaw-area graduates: accounting and business administration [[In-content Ad]]
A Warsaw man who went back to school at age 35 was honored as the outstanding alumnus of the year at Ivy Tech State College's commencement ceremonies last Friday, May 10, in South Bend's Century Center.
Curt Brown, 48, was cited by Ivy Tech's North Central Region for his professional achievements, community service, and example to others that education is a lifelong process.
While working full-time as a maintenance machinist at R.R. Donnelly and raising a young family, Brown enrolled at Ivy Tech, in his words, "to try something different."
Taking two or three courses a semester, he earned an associate's degree in machine tool technology at Ivy Tech summa cum laude. Brown has used his Ivy Tech training to help his company transition to CNC machining, and to advance several levels to his current position of supervisor of operations services.
He also uses his technical skills in volunteer activities, participating in mission trips to help build essential facilities in Guatemala and Papua New Guinea. Locally, he has served in several ministry and support groups at his church and provided handyman services to Ivy Tech's Warsaw campus.
A sports enthusiast, he is an officer of two area golf organizations, a former USS swim official, and a current Level 3 swim official for the YMCA. Brown lives in Warsaw with his wife and two children.
Among the 410 graduates receiving associate's degrees and technical certificates were two Warsaw campus graduates - both single mothers - who had to learn how to believe in themselves while achieving their academic goals.
When Amy Patrick first set foot on the Ivy Tech Warsaw campus in 2001, it took the coaxing of Joann Walgamuth, then executive dean, to get her inside.
A high school dropout who admits she "blew high school off," Patrick was working in the same factory where her mother had worked for 25 years, doing the same job and earning the same money, when she realized this wasn't the future she wanted for herself or her four children.
Yet, with a dismal high school academic record and a spouse who continually belittled her intellect, Patrick lacked confidence in her ability to do college work. "Joann had to take me by the elbow and lead me inside. She kept telling me it was going to be all right." she recalls.
While going through a divorce, Patrick started at Ivy Tech, taking noncredit, skill-building classes in math, composition and study skills before beginning her credit-bearing classes. Determined to prove her ex-husband wrong in his assessment of her abilities, she set her sights at earning all A's and B's.
When she began to receive scholarships based on her academic achievements, she still lacked confidence in herself, and she kept asking herself, "Why would anyone want to give this to me?"
By the time she graduated last week with associate's degrees in accounting and business administration, Patrick was carrying a 3.5 grade point average.
She also was logging many hours of community service as a member of Phi Theta Kappa, the international honor society for two-year colleges, and serving as president of the Student Government Association--all while keeping up with four growing children and planning her recent wedding to Greg Patrick.
Recently she was hired as the assistant in the Continuing Education program at Ivy Tech Warsaw, and she also will be beginning her bachelor's degree work through Walden University, an on-line institution.
Her advice to others considering going back to school? ""Don't be afraid to take that first step because you won't regret it," she says.
As Penny Pruitt marched across the stage to receive her technical certificate in medical assisting, she had someone close to her to thank for her achievement - her son and only child, T.J., age 17, who will repeat his mother's march May 28 as a Tippecanoe High School graduate.
"There have been times I've been so overwhelmed that I wanted to give it up, and he says, 'No, mom, you can't do that. Do you have your homework done?'"Pruitt recalled.
"I'll say, 'No, I have to fix supper,' and he says, 'I'll fix dinner, you do homework.' He picks up the slack at home," said Pruitt, 36.
Pruitt, a single parent, had been doing office work for 10 years when she decided to go back to school in 2001 to make a better life for herself and her son. She settled upon medical assisting after a friend who is an administrator at a hospital in Oregon told her about the shortage of medical transcriptionists and other healthcare personnel.
She chose Ivy Tech because it met her needs as a non-traditional student, offering classes that fit around both her work and "mom" schedules.
However, juggling the roles of single parent and student while holding down a job was not the only challenge she faced.
"Starting at Ivy Tech, I was scared to death," she said, noting that she had been out of school since 1985.
Furthermore, she carried a lot of baggage with her, particularly the comments of people in her adult life who told her she wasn't good enough, that she couldn't do things right.
"I tried to hold my head up high and be positive. Still, it was hard to undertake this. I was afraid of failing," she said.
Now, with a technical certificate under her belt, her perception of herself has done a 180-degree turnaround.
"I am happy and proud of myself. I've come a long way. The whole experience has done a lot for my confidence level." she said.
Her plans now include finding a job in her field, completing her associate's degree by May 2005, and then--who knows?
"Watch out, because here I come." she said. "I've been thinking of getting into nursing. I will probably continue education because now I know I can do it!
"Go in with an open mind," she tells others in a similar situation. "Let the people at Ivy Tech know what you want to do. They will work with you to achieve your goals - that's what they are all about.
"The instructors, the people in the financial aid office, the ladies in student affairs, the people in the bookstore--everyone has helped in one way or another to make my experience at Ivy Tech a good one."
Ivy Tech State College Commencement at a Glance;
How many graduating: 410: 143 technical certificates, 274 associate's degrees. (Some students earned multiple credentials.)
Local statistics:
• 44 graduates received degrees from the Warsaw campus
• An additional 24 students from Kosciusko County received degrees from the South Bend or Elkhart campuses.
• Half the Warsaw-area graduates34received their credential with honors
• Most popular programs among Warsaw-area graduates: accounting and business administration [[In-content Ad]]