Dec. 13, 2024
Ferris State fall semester graduates encouraged to use their specialized skills to head from commencement to careers
Skylie Raab crossed the stage at Ferris State University’s fall commencement on Friday celebrating her freshly earned Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree and headed straight to a job at the Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital in Grand Rapids.
Raab will be using her extensive training to launch a career in the neonatal intensive care unit, specializing in the care of ill or premature newborns.
That’s exactly what Ferris State President Bill Pink told graduates he wants to see: Students taking advantage of the university’s highly specialized programs targeting in-demand skills that lead to rewarding careers.
Raab was among 400 students celebrating degrees at the 154th commencement during two ceremonies in the university’s Wink Arena.
“Be excited that you completed this thing, but that you completed it as a Ferris State graduate,” Pink said. “That’s a big deal. I travel quite a bit in this job, and wherever I’m wearing Brutus on my shirt people say, ‘Oh, Ferris State!’ And they’ll relate it to many things. It may have to do with athletics. It may have something to do with a program we offer because, for the most part, with the programs we offer, you guys are going into the workforce before you are even done with us. You already have that job. You finish. You go to work, and you build a career. Not just a job, but a career.”
The Friday ceremonies were technically the third for Pink this week. He conducted a special ceremony on Tuesday for four graduating members of the university’s volleyball team, who were missing the pomp and circumstance to compete in the Elite Eight round of the NCAA DII National Tournament.
The Friday ceremonies also honored Becky Johnson Himes, associate professor of Nursing and RN to BSN program coordinator, who earned the 2024 Distinguished Teacher Award.
Johnson Himes has experience in obstetrics, mental health care, community based nursing, nursing administration and nursing instruction. Following 21 years of work in the community health setting, she became a faculty member of Ferris State’s School of Nursing in 2016. She went on to earn a Doctor of Nursing Practice degree through Walden University in 2019, with a project that focused on blood lead testing practices within a rural public health environment.
Theresa Buckingham was among those graduates who are already putting their skills to the test in the business world. She participated with the Class of 2024, though she technically graduated as part of the Class of 2020.
“I earned by Business Administration degree is 2020 when we didn’t have a commencement ceremony like this because of COVID,” she said after posing with family members in her cap and gown. “I’ve been a running my small business for four years, and I was always disappointed that I never got to have a traditional commencement. So, I was really excited when I was able to celebrate today.”