The Stylus- Volume 126, Issue 8

s u l y t S e h T

Volume 126

ISSUE

2021-22

#8

Visit stylusonline.org for online news and student blogs

A student publication of Park University since 1895

FB: ParkUniversityStylus stylus@park.edu December 3, 2021

Park prioritizes safety with Clery report “I’ve taken the opportunity to start looking at the students.

Savanna Wyatt “We want to make sure students have food, clothing, Editor Campus Safety offices procedures and make sure that The 2020 Park University Clery Annual Security Report was recently posted to the Park website. It lists crime statistics and safety policies for all Park University campus locations. All colleges who have federal funding programs must disclose and publish this report under the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Safety Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act. This act was created as a result of the death of Jeanne Clery, a college student who was murdered in her dormitory. The main purpose of this act is to make students, faculty and the public aware of crimes and safety statistics at colleges and universities.

“I think that’s very important for the campus because it allows people to have a one-stop shop more or less to you know to get all the rules and regs and safety procedures and things that they can do to keep themselves safe,” said Director of Campus Safety Jeffrey Hurley. The report features crime statistics which are divided into several categories as described by Hurley.

The first is major crimes such as murder, manslaughter and sex crimes. The next is substance and weapons violations. The third is student disciplinary statistics. The final is domestic or relational violence statistics.

Numbers are then placed in each of these categories stating the frequency of each crime per campus per year. The Parkville campus featured zeros for all but two of these categories with most infractions relating to disciplinary referrals for substance violations.

In Parkville, there were five on-campus liquor law violations and three on-campus drug abuse violations, the highest numbers for all categories. The other main sections of the report include the procedures and policies implemented at Park.

The report includes security, drug and alcohol, domestic/sexual violence, and missing student policies, which often continue to be adjusted.

we provide quality services for the students, faculty and staff,” said Hurley.

Another important feature of the report is tips to stay safe if a student is involved in a potentially harmful sexual situation.

GRAPHIC/Savanna Wyatt These suggestions include attending functions or gatherings with trustworthy people, watching the amount of alcohol or drugs one consumes and being verbal about one’s sexual limits and comforts. When in doubt, contact Campus Safety always as they are open 24 hours seven days a week.

In addition to reaching out to Hurley or Campus Safety, Associate Vice President and Dean of Students Jayme Uden, Ed.D., is a campus official who can assist

shelter and are safe,” said Uden. “It’s hard to focus on athletics or academics or anything if you’re not safe personally.”

Students can talk to him directly if they have an issue or fill out an online form.

There are different forms students can use on MyPark to file a complaint. To see a list of the forms, go to the student tab and click concern/complaint.

Uden also encourages students to reach out to him, Director of Student Support Amanda Bryant, a resident assistant, Director of Residence Life Tonya Wessel and/ or a coach in addition to Campus Safety. These people can then get Uden, Campus Safety or the police involved depending on the situation.

“We have a campus that we try to promote reporting things, and we want students to do that,” said Uden.

This is another way to increase and maintain safety on campus.

Elias Eichhorn, junior international business major, shares similar sentiments regarding Park’s safety as a resident.

“I knew I was not going to some country that was unstable, or I have to be scared about things like corruption,” said Eichhorn. He came from Düsseldorf, Germany, to continue his academic and soccer career.

Eichhorn said he always felt safe in Germany, Entertainment.....2 a country where

In This Issue:

See Clery Report on page 3

Campus Life.....3-6 Features............7-8

ENTERTAINMENT

Page 2 December 3, 2021

“The Greatest Showman” spreads the message of inclusivity Skyler Jensen Editor-in-chief Inspiration and hope are two things lacking in the world right now, but the 2017 movie “The Greatest Showman” has both qualities in spades.

The movie musical brings to life the story of P.T. Barnum. Although not entirely historically accurate, the film loosely follows the true story of Barnum’s creation of the first circus in the 1800s.

Growing up, he was very poor and felt disrespected by society. He fell in love with a girl in a rich family, Charity, much to the displeasure of her parents.

As the two grew up, Barnum (Hugh Jackman) wooed Charity (Michelle Williams) into marrying him. He promises to give her the life they dreamed of when they were children, but instead they end up in poverty. His refusal to disappoint her and need to outshine her parents drives his motivation to succeed.

Barnum draws up a plan to create a circus where people deemed as freaks or oddities would be on display and perform a show for the world to see. These acts include the Bearded Lady (Keala Settle), Dog Boy and Tattoo Man, among others.

Barnum also hires a rich-kid playwright named Phillip Carlyle (Zac Efron). Carlyle quickly falls for Black trapeze artist Anne Wheeler (Zendaya), but racial issues of the time keep them separate.

However, the relationship issues between Barnum and Charity are what drive the plot.

Barnum finds vocal talent Jenny Lind (Rebecca Ferguson), and his focus starts to wander from the circus and his family to this new star. He believes that Lind will catapult him into high class society and begins to distance himself from what he previously cared about.

The film’s story line provides plenty of drama, but the audience finds themselves drawn into the story even more so because of the talented cast.

Led by Jackman, the cast portrays the

story with loads of emotion and energy.

Jackman plays Barnum in such a captivating way that it draws the audience into the story and makes them want to see the world through his eyes. The supporting actors also captivate the audience with their ability to convey the plot.

Efron and Zendaya invite the audience to empathize with their struggle to have a relationship as society did not accept interracial couples. In their song, “Rewrite the Stars,” the two take their chemistry to new heights, literally and figuratively, as they sing and dance passionately to the song while suspended in the air. They also give their vocal talents to other numbers throughout the movie.

Another actor whose vocal talents shone through is Settle. She was the lead vocal in multiple songs, but the one that truly displayed her talent was the song “This is Me.” This inspirational song is the token song of the film and gives Settle a chance to show off her range. She sings it vulnerably and as the song builds on itself, so does the confidence of Settle’s character. The relatable lyrics let anyone who has ever felt unworthy know that they are important and do not need to fear the world or let anyone’s opinion of them diminish their self-worth.

The song was performed with other cast members and features a dance scene to really drive home the message of the movie. All these characters felt unworthy, unloved and unwanted by society and their loved ones. However, Barnum saw the value in these supposed oddities and built a circus to showcase their unique talents.

These characters created their own family and finally felt like they had a place where they were wanted. Black people were also highlighted as something other than just slaves. In Barnum’s show, they were accepted and treated like equals.

The message the movie delivers is obviously supposed to be reflective of society and the growth that could take place to abolish stereotypes and unequal treat-

PHOTO COURTESY/20th Century Fox

In Barnum’s show, they were accepted and treated like equals. ment of different races and social classes.

It is a good message to be taught, especially in a family movie.

It is also important to display diversity, which this film does. Hollywood still prefers to choose white, straight actors and actresses to star in movies, but more people outside of this typical demographic are starting to receive screen time. This shows growth for the entertainment industry and gives more actors chances to succeed.

Overall, the director, Michael Gracey, makes this hour and 45-minute film fly by as the audience is captivated by the compelling plot, expressive actors, melodious music and relatable message.

Staff List Editor-in-chief Skyler Jensen

Editors

MacKenzie Coder Natalya Nalivaiko Victoria Olaleye Savanna Wyatt

Reporters

Yi Li Dayana Jules

Adviser

Kristin Shaw

CAMPUS LIFE

Page 3 December 3, 2021

Park library invites therapy dogs back for finals week

Above: The McAfee Memorial Library once again hosted Human Animal Bond Therapy Pets from Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas, to help students de-stress before finals week. Anna Bair, sophomore biology major, attended and pet therapy dog, Milo, at the event.

Below: Park students sit with the dog, Buddercup, as they take a break from studying and completing homework on Nov. 29.

PHOTOS/ Skyler Jensen Students could also play board games or fill in mandala coloring sheets.This Park student chose to pet the dog, Mingsky, instead.

Lots of students attended the event, bringing life to the typically quiet library space.

Clery report Continued from page 1 citizens do not carry guns. In fact, colleges in Germany do not typically have campus safety either. However, he felt safe about attending school at Park.

One thing he takes comfort in is the fact that Campus Safety has patrol cars which they use to drive around at night to maintain and ensure residential safety.

Senior business major Emma von Weise is another student who generally feels safe on campus aside from one incident.

Von Weise’s car got broken into during fall 2019 in parking lot N during which her earbuds were stolen. Her car was one

of the few that got broken into that year, but this did not affect her feelings about safety on campus.

“Parkville is definitely way safe,” said von Weise.

As far as ensuring personal safety at Park, one of the most important safety tips is to sign up for Park Alerts.

Campus Safety sends these alerts out to students, faculty and staff to communicate safety issues like an intruder on campus, weather alerts like inclement weather and more. To sign up for the alerts, visit park.edu/park-alert.

CAMPUS LIFE

Page 4 December 3, 2021

Model students strike a pose for marketing photoshoot Yi Li Reporter On October 19, Park University had Tico Productions, LLC, visit the Parkville campus for a photoshoot. The plan is to use the images to promote the school in many different outlets with a goal of increasing its visibility.

Tico Productions is a full-service, multimedia, multicultural marketing agency located in Kansas City, Missouri.

The company says it specializes in media production, multicultural strategy, cause marketing, creative campaigns and social media.

“We have a new partnership with them,” said Aimee Patton while she was the director of marketing at Park University. Patton has since left her position and the university.

There are three reasons why we choose Tico. The first is because of their partnership with our partner the Kansas City Chiefs got them to do Hispanic broadcasting during the Chiefs games. They provide all the video and photograph services. And we have not had a professional photoshoot and promotional photos on the Parkville campus for a few years, but the marketing department needs these materials, so this time the campus promotional photos took place.

PHOTOS/Yi Li Five Park students pose on the stairs of Mackay Hall for the photoshoot.

Tico had been on campus over the summer to take exterior shots of Park University’s buildings while most students were gone. Parkville campus photos are incredibly important to marketing.

They are used to showcase how beautiful the campus is to prospective students, alumni and the community.

“We use as many student photos and photos of our campuses in our marketing materials as possible so that we can showcase all the great things that (Park) has to offer,” said Patton.

Tico also took some pictures of the Gilbert campus for similar purposes.

Park has some advertisements that spe-

On the left, students Debora Bernardi, Joao Friedrich and Neyamia Powell sit in front of Norrington Center talking and laughing with each other.

On the right, two students sit and pose with a smile on their faces outside of Herr House.

cifically advertise Gilbert in and around that campus.

Normally, the university will retake a professional marketing photos within two to three years, but this photoshoot was actually overdue because of COVID-19. The pandemic stalled many projects. Although the marketing department has not been closed, their campus photos are dated. Throughout the school year, Park’s marketing team will use photos from athletic events or other happenings on campus. However, the Tico photoshoot provides a look at students in action and the campus lifestyle.

Marketing reached out to other offices on campus to find students to participate in the photoshoot. Patton said they wanted a wide mix of students at all levels like graduate and undergraduate, athletes and non-athletes. A total of 21 students participated throughout the day of the photoshoot.

“It was just a great mix of students, and they were all wearing Park gear as we asked them to,” Patton said. “We staged them throughout the campus and it really worked out well.”

The photoshoot included still shots, drone images and videos at various places around campus. The images will likely be used in future advertising campaigns and updates to Park University websites, among other places.

CAMPUS LIFE

Students cope with mental health struggles during COVID pandemic Megan Townsend Contributor “When I realized COVID was going to affect the United States, I was sitting there in social studies.

Every day we would watch the CNN Student News, and they would talk more and more about it. Then we heard about the first case in the United States, and that’s when I realized that it was going to affect us,” said sophomore biology major Anna Bair, reflecting on her senior year of high school and the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S. COVID has had a significant and broad impact on the world, and students, in particular, have faced hardships when it comes to their mental health.

The isolation that many students felt rings true with freshman English and psychology major Neyamia Powell.

“During the pandemic when we were locked down, it wasn’t super great. Motivation was very low. I wouldn’t necessarily say that I was depressed or super anxious or anything like that, but it did get very difficult being online all the time and finding the will to do assignments and not just sleep the whole day,” Powell said.

You know, we’re just getting through life the best we can. That’s what I’ve always done so I’m just going to keep doing that.

Neyamia Powell Freshman English and psychology major With the free time of the pandemic also came time for introspection. Bair said she has examined how COVID impacted her mental health, specifically.

“I think it’s definitely made me realize that I do need to take a look at my mental health,” she said.

“It was never really something I thought about. But I’m more aware of it, is a good way to put it. So I have tried to take more efforts to take care of my mental health than maybe I would have been.”

Bair went on to say that her perspective has changed in the past couple of years. She found that

PHOTO/Megan Townsend Sophomore Park University student Anna Bair waters her plant in her dorm room. As a biology major, she takes great interest and care in learning as much as she can about her plants. as a young adult it can be hard, as the world constantly evolves around her while she feels like she might be standing still.

“Honestly the past couple years have really made me realize how fluid time feels,” she said. “I mean, you’d never think that two years have passed at this point, and I don’t even remember what I did during all that time. But it made me realize that I should be paying more attention to what’s going on and appreciating those things.”

The unique experience of the pandemic has made some students feel left behind or stuck in their younger selves.

“I almost feel like I’m still a freshman because our situations have just been so very different. You can’t really relate to the people in other grades than you. You can solely relate with the people in your grade because they’re the only people that have gone through the same thing you have,” Bair said.

Powell and Bair both described the past couple of years with mixed feelings.

“I think I would describe the last couple of years as hectic, first of all,” Bair said. “And they feel most non-existent in a way.”

“Slightly terrible,” Powell said. “Silver linings?

Making something from nothing and making the best out of the worst.”

Page 5 December 3, 2021

CAMPUS LIFE

Page 6 December 3, 2021

Pirate Pantry restocks its stores with fall donation drive Victoria Olaleye Editor Park Pirate Pantry had a donation drive from Nov. 1-19. This is an event that is typically held at least once a year. Donation bins were placed in five different locations on campus: Milsap Foyer, the Academic Plaza, Norrington Center, Mackay Hall and Thompson Commons. Food items, non-food items and monetary donations were encouraged during the drive. Even though the donation drive has ended for the semester, the pantry still welcomes donations. There is a bin right in front of the pantry in Labor Hall where donations can be dropped off. Also, monetary donations can be submitted at advancing.park.edu/giving/pirate-pantry-donate/.

PHOTOS/Victoria Olaleye Above: Pirate Pantry was established in fall 2018. There are different sections labeled in the pantry for easy access to items.

Middle: A donation bin in the Academic Plaza had a list of suggested pantry items glued to it.

Right: The pantry has a dry erase board for students to write items they would like to get.

Women’s volleyball works to continue hot streak in NAIA Championship MacKenzie Coder Editor The Park University women’s volleyball team extended their season win streak to 29 on Wednesday, Dec. 1, and secured a place in the NAIA quarterfinals.

The Pirates beat Dakota Wesleyan University 3-0, the day after they topped Grand View University 3-1. The 2-0 record made them the pool champion.

This year marks the team’s 9th appearance in the NAIA Women’s Volleyball Championship. The Pirates qualified this year by virtue of being both the Heart of America Athletic Conference regular

season champion and HOA tournament champion.

Park hosted this year’s HOA tournament Nov. 6-13 in Breckon Sports Center. In the tournament quarterfinals, Park faced Benedictine College and won all three sets: 25-14, 25-18, 25-21. The women’s team then beat Clarke University in the semifinals in three sets: 25-15, 25-10, 25-8. Finally, Park won all three sets of the championship match against Central Methodist University, 25-19, 25-19, 2512, making them tournament champions once again and sending the team to the NAIA tournament ranked No. 4.

On Nov. 20, Park University hosted

Midway University for the NAIA Women’s Volleyball National Championship opening round. Park swept the Eagles, 25-10, 25-17, 25-16, advancing to the final tournament site in Sioux City, Iowa.

Pool play began Nov. 30 with Park up against Grand View University. The Pirates won the close match in four sets, winning the first 25-22 but falling to the Vikings in the second, 25-21. The third set was a nail biter as the Vikings came back from six points down to tie the Pirates at 24. Park eventually took the set in a 28-26 victory. Up 2-1 in the match, Park used their momentum to take the final set 25-18 and win the match 3-1.

Pool play continued for Park on Dec. 1 against the Dakota Wesleyan Tigers. The first set was a back and forth between the two teams and was tied up at 22 before the Pirates came away with the 25-22 win.

Sets two and three were not as competitive, with Park winning 25-18 and 25-17, sweeping the Tigers 3-0.

At the time of publication, the outcomes of the quarterfinal match on Thursday, Dec. 2 and the potential semifinal match on Friday, Dec. 3 were not known. If the Pirates continue to advance, the championship match will be held on Saturday, Dec. 4.

FEATURES

Page 7 December 3, 2021

Students drawn to success of Park’s nursing program Natalya Nalivaiko Editor Nursing programs are generally regarded to be academically challenging and demanding. It requires a lot of studying and hard work to pass classes and important exams. Most importantly, student nurses want to leave their programs able to obtain the licenses and certifications they need to practice nursing.

Park University’s nursing department is producing nurses who are ready to go out and work in the field.

In the last three semesters, Park’s nursing program has had a 100 percent passing rate for the NCLEX exam, which is the exam that tests overall skills and knowledge learned in nursing school. It is developed by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing. Students must pass it in ordered to be licensed as a registered nurse or RN. Solena Rodriquez, a junior in her first year of the nursing program, says that the NCLEX passing rate is what attracted her to the program.

“That definitely made me gravitate towards wanting to come here because that means they’re doing something right because people are getting licensed,” said Rodriquez.

A huge part of what creates that success for nursing students and the program are the various dynamics of learning that they go through. Jessica Fitzgerald, DNP, assistant chair of the nursing department and assistant professor, explains how that learning works.

“We have kind of a tri-fold of classroom, skills lab-slash-simulation and then also clinicals that goes into our preparation for the nurses,” said Fitzgerald. “We go into our assessment labs or our fundamental lab and practice the different skills that help support the different theoretical knowledge, and then we also have simulation, so we take those skills and we combine them together and simulate a patient

experience.”

When students go into clinicals, they go into real hospitals and follow nurses and are able to practice their learned skills with patients in order to prepare them for work after receiving their BSN or bachelor of science in nursing.

Jaime Tonasket, a junior nursing major, says she appreciates all of the resources the nursing program has to offer for the students.

“Not only do we sit in class for three hours a day, but we can use our skills that we learn about and actually do them in lab, clinicals and simulation,” said Tonasket.

In the simulation labs, there are mannequins that lay in hospital beds and are able to make small movements like blinking their eyes, and can be treated by the nursing students. The mannequins are hooked up to various machines,

and they act as patients for students to practice skills on, such as checking their heart rate, blood pressure and drawing blood. There are even pregnant mannequins and babies for students to practice taking care of later on in the program.

“We have to see what they need, we have to look at their chart, and go into their orders and have to perform the tasks, and we are graded off of that,” explains Tonasket.

Students don’t only read the textbook and spit information back out on tests; they have to understand the information and learn hands-on how to do various skills just as they would in the real world.

These simulation labs allow students to make mistakes without having the actual consequences of a mistake on a patient.

They are able to practice until it’s perfect and then perform those skills on real patients in clinicals at a hospital.

PHOTO/Natalya Nalivaiko Jaime Tonasket and the simulation lab technician take a look at a mannequin of a newborn baby. Also pictured is one of the pregnant mannequins that students can work with later on in the nursing program. Students practice real life skills and treat these mannequins as real patients.

The resources in the nursing program are very helpful to students and keep them on the right track to become adequate nurses in the real world. In addition to those resources, one of the benefits to students at Park are the smaller class sizes that allow for a lower student to professor ratio.

Rodriquez said, “I really like the fact that the classes are small, so we get to not only kind of interact with everybody in your class but the kind of help you can get from your teachers is also substantially greater than some of the other universities where the class sizes are ginormous.”

Fitzgerald adds, “What makes Park a little more unique and addresses things for students is that while we do have great facilities, we also have small numbers, and I think those two combined help us have a successful pass rate.”

For Tonasket and Rodriquez, joining the nursing program at Park has had its challenges with the amount of content and concepts that are required for them to learn. Yet they both enjoy the program because they know they are being welltaught and prepared to take the NCLEX. They also have confidence their knowledge and skills will translate into their future jobs.

“It’s not easy but it’s definitely worth it,” said Tonasket. “All you have to do is keep your head up and push through all of the challenges.”

Rodriquez says it’s important to make the right choice for yourself when choosing a program as well as know why you are doing it. In nursing, she thinks it’s essential to always know why you want to go through the program and use that as motivation to keep going.

“Although it’s not for everyone, it’s a rewarding career I don’t think anyone will regret getting into.

I really enjoy the program and the people I work with and the students,” said Fitzgerald. “It’s a good program.”

S

FEATURES

Page 8 December 3, 2021

International students gain global experiences, connections and a degree Victoria Olaleye Editor As the semester draws to an end, this means different things to students at the stages of their studies. Graduation is just at the corner for seniors. For international graduating students, the degree is not the only thing they will take with them. They’ve also gained the experience of studying abroad and learning the cultures of other countries.

Ozoda Narzullaeva, a senior computer science major from Uzbekistan, said her experience as an international student has been an interesting one. The International Students’ Incorporation was a great contribution to her experience as she was able to attend different events organized by this group.

“Just the way I met so many different people from different countries because Park is so diverse, it gave me a broader perspective of how life is, not only in the U.S., not only in my country but also, I was able to hear from other students,” Narzullaeva said.

For senior business major Keno Reynold, the shift from living with family to living alone was a challenge.

“I came straight from living with my parents in high school, so I had to learn how to manage my own money and stuff like that,” said Reynold.

To be involved in the Park community, Narzullaeva prioritized joining clubs and organizations.

She started by working on campus, learned about leadership positions and applied for them. This helped her learn skills like time management and goal setting which she still finds helpful and will continue to help her in whatever she does.

This is the same for Reynold. “It wasn’t that difficult to adapt. I lived at Chestnut, and Chestnut was full of other international students,” he said.

Reynold was part of clubs and organizations to get more involved at Park, one of which was the Model United Nations

Club where he had the chance to visit Reynold also spoke about his experiother states in the U.S. ence with other international students.

As with many other international He enjoyed the opportunity to meet, students, information systems and busiconnect and have conversations with stuness analytics major Kennedy Mbuthi dents from different parts of the world. had mixed feelings about being in a new “I have never experienced that anyplace, but this where else other changed as soon as than Park,” said he started working Reynold. ...because Park is so diverse, it with residence Mark Chunga, gave me a broader perspective of a graduate student life as a graduate assistant. majoring in inforhow life is...

Working with Ozoda Narzullaeva mation systems the director of resand business Senior computer science major analytics also said idence life, Mbuthi said, “I remember being in an enviher introducing ronment with a me not only to lot of people from the residence life different countries team but also to was a good expepeople throughout rience for him. the campus. Such “That environa warm welcome ment has taught made me feel me a lot of things; comfortable and like I know how at home especially different people while working react to things and closely with the how they relate to residents assisthings, so it’s been tants, graduate helpful to me,” assistants and Chunga said.

RHC members Group projects and officials. are one of things Since then, I have Chunga likes as he looked at these gets to hear views people as family.” from other people Being an interfrom different national student, a PHOTO COURTESY/Jasur Rakhimov backgrounds and memorable expelearn from them.

Ozoda Narzullaeva poses in a Park Chunga said he rience for NarzuUniversity graduation gown. llaeva is meeting could easily adjust people from to the community different parts at Park because of the world. She learned more about people were welcoming, and he was able the traditions of other cultures and how to immerse himself in the community by some of them are similar to hers, which joining organizations that are in line with is something that fascinates Narzullaeva. his values.

Having learned about different cultures With the graduation ceremony at Park, Narzullaeva feels motivated to being in person this semester after travel and in the future, visit the counthe spring 2021 ceremony was online, tries of her friends.

Narzullaeva is excited. She was initially

concerned that it could be online like the previous year.

“I kind of told myself that even if it’s online, we are not going to be upset because either way I’m graduating, and the main part is that I’m finishing up,” Narzullaeva said.

Chunga is excited to be in the graduation gown, as well as to attend the sash ceremony, as he has watched people have it in the past and now, it is his turn to celebrate.

Reynold also showed his excitement for an in-person ceremony as he pushed his graduation to this semester because he didn’t want a virtual graduation.

“Of course, I was worried that they’re still going to do it the same (virtual) this semester but luckily they’re actually having a real commencement ceremony,” Reynold said.

Looking forward to post-graduation, Narzullaeva is excited for all the free time she will get after school as she will be working and using the free time to focus on other things in her life. She plans to stay in the Unites States and pursue optional practical training at her current workplace.

Being in the U.S. for four years without visiting his home country, Reynold is excited to go back home after his graduation. He has decided he will be taking a break from school and plans to find a job in Micronesia as a way of giving back for having his tuition paid, before furthering his education.

As Mbuthi rounds up his degree at Park University, he is excited to begin his career as a data analyst. He plans to work after graduation to gain real-life experience in his chosen field.

This year’s commencement ceremony will be held in person on Saturday, Dec. 11 at 10 a.m. in the Community of Christ Auditorium in Independence, Missouri.

Graduating students were able to reserve tickets for their family and friends, but the deadline was Oct. 24. More information can be found online at park.edu/ commencement.