THIEL LEGACIES Thiel “runs in the family” for these new graduates!
Congrats, Class of 2012! On May 6 under sunny skies and with a capacity crowd, 171 men and women left the Thiel College student body and entered into the ranks of its alumni at the 138th Commencement ceremony. The ceremony was bittersweet as retiring professor Dr. Joyce Cuff, professor of biology and Paul M. Rike Professor of Life Sciences, delivered the commencement address. She acknowledged the fact that both she and the graduates were entering new phases of their lives that day, but that they were all ready—ready to move on and ready to make the world a better place. She encouraged the Class of 2012 to focus on making their immediate worlds a better place, telling them to “bloom where you are planted now.” Cuff acknowledged that the new graduates may not end up where they planned but that “it matters what you do wherever you are planted.”
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Stephanie Anne Dolinar with her brother, Gil Dolinar ’07
After 30 years of teaching at Thiel, Cuff is returning to Tanzania, Africa, where she spent her last sabbatical, to resume her humanitarian efforts in a medical facility there. Dr. Robert H. Baker received an honorary Doctorate of Science during the ceremony. Baker has been an orthopedic surgeon in the Greenville area for nearly 60 years. He has been a vital member of the Thiel community, serving for many years as team physician and adviser to the Department of Athletics. Six students earned valedictorian and salutatorian honors for 2012. Congratulations to valedictorians Sarah Conte, Brendan DuLaney, Scott Hunkus, Jacquelyne Kinney and David Owens and salutatorian Kristen Moreland. Senior class president Ryan Prescott delivered greetings from the Class of 2012 and presented the class gift, a sidewalk from College Avenue to the Academic Center. Annie Camp delivered the senior oration—“Travelers on a Journey.” Camp talked about her college journey from matriculation to commencement, ending with the sentiment that “I feel blessed to be forever known as a Thiel Tomcat.”
Joshua Aaron Shaffer with his father, Jim Shaffer ’79
For more photos from Commencement, visit www.flickr.com/thielcollege
The entire Thiel community wishes the Class of 2012 good luck and safe travels to wherever the future takes them. We know they are ready to bloom, grow and transform wherever they are planted! The Bell • Spring 2012
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