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Valley man in Santa suit among 700 receiving their college degrees
By Sean Barron
YOUNGSTOWN
It’s taken Bill Fain about as long to earn his bachelor’s degree in social work as it has to grow, dye and color his hair white – and just right.
“Four years ago, someone needed a Santa, so I grew my hair and a beard,” the Austintown man and 20-year Navy veteran explained.
Fain may spend time during the holidays standing in for jolly old St. Nick, but he also has successfully completed the very serious business of earning his four-year degree, which he received during Youngstown State University’s fall commencement Sunday afternoon in Beeghly Center.
He was among the estimated 700 graduates from YSU’s Colleges of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics; Graduate Studies; Creative Arts and Communications; and Liberal Arts and Social Sciences; Beeghly College of Education; Williamson College of Business Administration; and Bitonte College of Health and Human Services who took home degrees after the 90-minute ceremony.
Fain, who was injured while in the military, recalled having been retrained for a new career, which led to an interest in social work geared toward protecting children from abuse. From there, he began an internship at a facility in Ashtabula, which became a full-time position about 12 weeks ago, he explained.
“I help families who can’t fend for themselves … to get food and shelter, parenting classes and the services they need,” he continued.
In addition, Fain spends Sundays between Thanksgiving and Christmas standing in for Santa at Four Seasons Flea & Farm Market in the city to raise money on behalf of area veterans with disabilities, he added.
Also thrilled and relieved to have their four-year degrees in hand were Chavez F.R. Lopez, Nicholas M. Parish and Gianna M. Colucci, all of whom were students in the College of STEM.
“It was hard – especially being a mom and having a full-time job,” Colucci said about having earned a bachelor of science degree.
Colucci, who has an 11-month-old son and majored in biology with a minor in chemistry, said her next goals are to earn a master’s degree in physician’s-assistant studies, then go on to medical school. Her respite from the books will be short-lived, however, because she intends to enroll in June at Slippery Rock University, added Colucci, who also graduated summa cum laude with a 3.99 grade-point average.
Designing and improving infrastructure are on Lopez’s radar screen, as is learning more about lighting and power circuits for that purpose, the electrical-engineering major and 2011 Leetonia High School graduate explained.
Earning an advanced degree in integrated science and becoming a high-school biology teacher are primary ambitions for Parish, who graduated magna cum laude. Parish added that science has been of particular interest to him since childhood.
On the business end of things, James P. Rolley and Joshua M. Shaffer, who majored in marketing management and business administration, respectively, expressed relief that they were on the verge of graduating and starting new chapters in their lives.
“I wanted to further my educational pursuits,” Rolley, a nontraditional student, said about his decision to leave the health care field after 10 years and change direction to work in sales.
An internship and full-time job, coupled with his studies, gave him little time at YSU to do much beyond focusing on his assignments, said Rolley, a 2003 Austintown Fitch High School grad.
Shaffer, who works part time for an appraisal company, said his long-term goal is to open his own store in a field he sees as having growing opportunities.
During the program, President Jim Tressel urged the grads to continue in their quest to strive for excellence and make a positive impact, to take on leadership roles aimed at improving their communities and to set high goals for themselves.
Tressel also asked for a moment of silence to honor the late Angela M. Bell, who was awarded a bachelor’s degree from the College of STEM posthumously, and officer Justin A. Leo of the Girard Police Department, who was killed in the line of duty Oct. 21 while responding to a call. Leo graduated from the YSU Police Academy in June 2009.
In addition, Tressel asked all veterans in the packed arena to stand and be recognized for their service to the nation.
Giving the commencement address was Pamela Browner White, senior vice president of communications for the American Board of Internal Medicine and the ABIM Foundation.
White recalled how a series of hardships she endured initially made her feel like she had failed, but how she became “a student on a mission,” determined to learn more and grow, despite the nonlinear path her life had taken.
White, whose diverse career also included serving as senior vice president of public affairs and government relations for the Philadelphia Eagles, advised the graduates to view challenges as opportunities, be comfortable with change, strive to show compassion toward others and be kind to themselves.
“Don’t allow anybody to make you feel like a nobody,” said White, who’s also a community activist. “You’re more capable than you can imagine. We all have the capacity for greatness.”
Offering the student reflection was Molly B. Lukehart, who earned a bachelor of fine arts degree in theater.
Lukehart, who has appeared in several student-directed plays, said her main reasons for attending YSU were to gain opportunities to live a happier and fuller life, to demonstrate to her young son the value of higher education and to “obtain a career I love, rather than a job I can tolerate.” Among the university’s best attributes are student diversity and the sense of family she’s felt on campus, Lukehart added.
Making additional remarks was Martin A. Abraham, provost and vice president for academic affairs.