THE BEST IS YET TO COME Feature by Tina (Napper) Tebbe ’08
The early 2000s were a special time. Before the dawn of smartphones, Facebook and YouTube, Bearcats who arrived at McKendree in the year 2000 were busy debating about which boy band was the best, tuning into the first season of reality TV game show “Big Brother,” and testing out the myriad of sports games on the all-new PlayStation 2. McKendree in the early 2000s was also changing and growing to meet students’ needs. As the University began drumming up plans to create and unveil the gorgeous Russel E. and Fern M. Hettenhausen Center for the Arts as a premier performing arts venue, McKendree was also preparing to take another large step: offering graduate degrees to anyone wishing to further their education. The Class of 2004 was the very first class of Bearcats in 99 years to be able to take these courses at their alma mater. Since its launch in 2004, the graduate programs at McKendree have grown to include nine unique paths for adult learners to tread.
5