The catchphrase came to Mary Cunningham quickly as she sprinted through college for the first time. “Whose bright idea was this?”
Cunningham, a Dyer native, was all smiles Friday night as she walked with a crowd of her Ivy Tech friends to the podium set up at the U.S. Steel Works in Gary for the school's graduation ceremony. Her daughter, Lori Reiser, and Bonus' daughter, Donna Cunningham, greeted her with a poster of her on their porch on her first day of college in September 2020, and then, like so many proud families, her parents. He held up a photo of her in a cap and gown. Someone I love.
With his grandson Ben by his side, Cunningham became the school's oldest Honors College graduate. She says her adrenaline was crazy.
“It's hard to explain the sense of pride I feel for myself,” the 77-year-old general studies graduate said with a smile. “But there were many times when I wondered why I was doing this.”
Steelyard has graduated more than 1,000 students, many of them so-called nontraditional students like Cunningham. This is a fact that GEO Foundation Chairman Kevin Teasley is very proud of.
“This is an institution that welcomes all visitors,” said Teasley, who also received an honorary degree. “It's useful for model mechanics and welders. It's useful for culinary students and nurses. It's useful for people who want to be lawyers, but it all starts here.”
When the GEO Foundation opened its first charter school, 21st Century Charter School, in 2005, they started with a traditional mindset, Teasley said. They decided to think outside the box until one of their first students announced that they were planning to drop out.
“We told him that if he took the entrance exam (to Ivy Tech), we would pay for that and his schooling. Two years later, he graduated with an associate's degree. ,” he said. “Since then, more than 60 students have earned associate degrees and even bachelor's degrees through Ivy Tech. All of this success is because Ivy Tech is open to partnerships like this.”
While many non-traditional students are high school students taking dual credit, Cunningham took advantage of what the school had to offer, including becoming a member of the honor fraternity Phi Beta Kappa in 2021. She even hosted her own Zoom program for her fellow honors students. The college students were given the apt title: “Whose Great Idea Is This?”
“We broke up because it was difficult to get everyone together. But it was fun,” Cunningham said.
Mr. Cunningham wanted to go to college, but he always “put himself behind us,” Donna Cunningham said. After his retirement, when she was 73 years old, a great opportunity presented itself.
“I did it to confuse my family,” she said again, smiling.
As for what's next, Cunningham will finally start reading the books she wants to read instead of the books she was reading in class, and may even come to Ivy Tech to direct this program for non-traditional students. She said she might consult with him. But first, there's a party, her daughter said.
“I've got a room (at the hotel) and mimosas,” she said.
Michelle L. Quinn is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
