Edison commencement speaker tells 400 graduates his community college education helped him realize his dreams

A chimney sweep after high school, speaker said the community college sparked his interest in learning

He spent many days after high school as a part-time chimney sweep and house painter. He had bizarre thoughts of transforming society through radical music and moving to Paris to live like Ernest Hemingway.

The speaker at Friday night’s 33^rd annual commencement at Edison Community College in Piqua said that when his college-going friends left behind these “odd jobs” and “wild dreams,” he did, too, eventually.

Sean Creighton, Executive Director of the Southwestern Ohio Council for Higher Education, told the crowd of nearly 2300 including 400 graduates, that his decision to take a class at a New York community college altered his future forever.
“It sparked my interest in classroom learning and provided me with the support, encouragement, and opportunity to succeed,” Creighton told the large gathering of college grads in the North Hall Convocation Center, “just as Edison has done for you.”

Creighton called Edison “a mighty regional force” and referred to it as “the upper Miami Valley’s job and training center which plays a big role in the region’s economic development and the residents’ quality of life.”

In addition, Creighton said, Edison and higher education “bring out the potential in us and motivate us.”
He said that learning “immerses us in the diverse cultures of the world and stretches us to the point of thinking differently.”

“And, oh yes, to the point of dreaming,” he added.

Although Creighton’s post-high school plans were “far-fetched concoctions,” many of the goals he developed after his community college experience were real and have been met.

“Today, in my professional position, I have the good fortune of working with more than 20 colleges and universities, which, in turn, work together and work with their communities to advance west central Ohio,” said Creighton, who has earned a doctorate’s degree.

“Who would have thought the former chimney sweep

who cut class in high school and thought he could educate himself would make higher learning such a big part of his life,” asked Creighton, who today also serves as an elected school board member.

“I’m sure you are far more passionate about education and a much deeper thinker than I once was,” he said.

Creighton applauded the service learning students who have already introduced community engagement into their lives.

He also challenged Edison’s 2008 graduation class.

“Allow your new knowledge to drive you to higher levels of thinking and action. Continue to update your skills with further college study. And remain here to be a part of this region’s talented workforce,” Creighton stated.

Among Edison’s graduates ready for the workforce were the college’s first four individuals to complete the new program in medical laboratory technology (MLT).

“After having finished this very thorough course of study, I’m extremely well prepared for the med lab field,” said graduate Jennifer Scott of Casstown, who landed a job at the Upper Valley Medical Center while performing her Edison internship.

Scott, who first completed Edison’s phlebotomy program, was reunited at the college in MLT courses with Katherine Niemi-Adams, a former Piqua High School classmate ten years ago.

“The career opportunities are there. I’m interviewing and considering options,” said Niemi-Adams, who had previously served as an aide in a nursing home before pursuing an MLT degree at Edison.

College officials estimated that the nearly one-half of Edison’s graduates who are transferring credits to universities collectively saved a grand total of at least $6-million by starting their educations at the more affordable community college. Many more students than ever before are taking advantage of Edison’s university-transfer programs.

Edison President Dr. Kenneth A. Yowell conferred all associate degrees during the commencement ceremony.

He also recognized the 42 bachelor’s and master’s degree graduates in attendance. Through partnerships with four-year institutions, these individuals finished

advanced degrees by taking upper-division classes online and on the Edison campus.

Nineteen men and women completed bachelor’s degree completion programs offered at Edison through Bluffton University. Four earned online completion degrees through Franklin University. Nine attained bachelor’s degrees by taking courses that were transmitted to the Edison campus from the University of Dayton via Internet-based video teleconferencing.

Ten additional students fulfilled master’s degree requirements through Bluffton classes offered on Edison’s main campus in Piqua.

Twenty-six was the median age for Edison graduates who hailed from a dozen Ohio counties.