Harper has record number of grads
Lauren Raef and Paul Sandhu weren’t sure they’d ever be here. The two had rocky starts to their college careers, but eventually found their way — with Raef knocking out a 4.0 semester GPA and Sandhu getting on the path to medical or pharmacy school.
On Sunday, they’ll cross the stage at Harper College’s spring commencement as part of the largest class of graduates the college has ever had.
In all, about 3,500 students — roughly 1,000 more than last year — will collect associate degrees or certificates from Harper in the 2010-2011 year, and a record number will participate in the graduation ceremony.
The increased numbers come amid a renewed collegewide emphasis on getting students to the finish line — a response to President Barack Obama’s challenge to community colleges nationwide to produce 5 million more graduates by the 2020.
“It feels great to actually be graduating,” said Raef, of Palatine, who started at Eastern Illinois University before transferring to Harper and completing an associate degree. She’ll return to Eastern this fall to pursue a bachelor’s in geology.
For Sandhu, who will transfer to Loyola University this fall to finish a bachelor’s in biology, graduation “is an ending to one journey, but the beginning of another,” he said.
The Schaumburg resident fell behind early at Harper, but found the inspiration he needed to take academics seriously.
“I’m blessed to have so many people who taught me a lot of things,” he said. “I can move on, with these lessons, and become a better person.”
This year’s graduating class also represents a variety of other educational journeys, from a 17-year-old who completed her Certified Nursing Assistant certification while in high school to a 73-year-old man who earned an associate degree after taking a variety of classes over three decades.
The ceremony is at 2 p.m. Sunday outside the Avanté Center on the College’s main campus, 1200 W. Algonquin Road in Palatine. About 500 Harper graduates are scheduled to attend.
Connie Payton, the wife of the late Chicago Bears legend Walter Payton and the head of the Walter and Connie Payton Foundation for abused and neglected children, will deliver the keynote address.
Graduates also will hear from Jake Sadoff, a Distinguished Alumni winner who earned his bachelor’s from Northern Illinois University and becoming an accomplished businessman and Harper Speech Team mentor.