Purdue University Northwest
(PNW) spring 2024 graduates arduously persisted to complete their college
degrees. Intensive hours spent studying or researching, leading on-campus
events, and shining on the field or court have prepared PNW graduates well for
their next professional ventures.
However, rising to new
opportunities requires another ingredient. A pledge to be brave and step
outside of your comfort zone unlocks a potential one could have never imagined.
Regina Biddings-Muro, a PNW alumna and higher education leader, imparted this advice
in her keynote address to the graduating class on Saturday, May 4.
“Persist...or your dreams
will die. Find courage to face the most difficult challenge in your lives,” she
informed the graduates.
PNW Chancellor Kenneth C.
Holford applauded the graduates for the hard work, sacrifice, and determination
that brought them to the moment of earning their diplomas.
“Your work here as a student,
as a researcher and as a contributor to the landscape of higher education has
brought Purdue Northwest to a crossroad of national importance in the science,
business, health, engineering, humanities, education, and technology sectors,”
Holford stated. “Our promise to you, as graduates (of PNW), is to continue to
innovate, improve, and succeed as an institution of higher learning as you
continue to innovate, improve, and succeed in your lives and careers.”
PNW faculty members opened
doors
In her keynote address,
Biddings-Muro drew on her lived experience as a student and a higher education
administrator to illustrate how courage made a difference in achieving new
heights. She earned both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Communication
from PNW and her doctorate in Higher Education Administration from Benedictine
University.
As an undergraduate, she was
nudged on by her faculty mentors to interview for an internship at AM 1230
WJOB, despite her initial reluctance.
“The suit and shoes my mother
bought me at Carson Pirie Scott could not possibly hide the fact that I had
only one broadcasting class and no relevant experience,” she said. “I left that
interview happy it was over and certain I would not get the job. I was wrong. A
PNW faculty member had opened the door to launch my career. By my senior year,
I had two years at WJOB and an internship at CBS-TV.”
Biddings-Muro's career
trajectory led her to public relations roles at the former Inland Steel Company
(now Cleveland-Cliffs Indiana Harbor) and Northern Indiana Public Service
Company (NIPSCO), as well as back to PNW to serve as vice chancellor of Institutional
Advancement and as Chief of Staff.
Biddings-Muro acknowledged
she felt conflicted internally when her next opportunity was presented in 2018:
becoming the vice president for University Advancement at California Lutheran
University. As a Northwest Indiana native, moving more than 2,000 miles away
from her support system was challenging.
At Cal Lutheran,
Biddings-Muro said, “I learned that my leadership needed to expand and grow. I
entered deep learning mode — about myself and my team — to gain, build and
maintain trust.”
Although a major life
transition may prove difficult, mustering courage in the face of a challenge
will help you succeed, Biddings-Muro said.
“Commit to your ‘impossible
goal’ because of what it will make of you to achieve it,” she told the
graduates. “Your journey will have surprise twists and turns that do not seem
to make sense. This is normal! Persist...and your dreams will become reality.”
PNW’s
spring 2024 graduating class includes 834 candidates, with 685 earning
baccalaureate degrees and 149 earning master’s degrees.
Read
more stories featuring PNW graduates at pnw.edu/commencement.
Chancellor
Medallion Recipients
Ten
students received a Chancellor Medallion for earning the highest grade point
average in each of PNW’s five academic colleges. Medallions were presented
during the commencement ceremony.
The
medallion recipients are:
College
of Business
- Adam Hayes,
Griffith, Indiana
- Anthony Powell,
Valparaiso, Indiana
- Jacob Rasmussen,
Beecher, Illinois
College
of Engineering and Sciences
- Arvin Altankhundaga, Hammond,
Indiana
- Lucas
Maurer, Cedar Lake, Indiana
College
of Humanities, Education and Social Sciences
- Gisselle
Canuto, Hammond, Indiana
- Alyssa
Chavez, Munster, Indiana
College
of Nursing
- Sydney
Small, Michigan City, Indiana
College
of Technology
- Noah Ford,
Wanatah, Indiana
- Abigail
McDowell, Tecumseh, Michigan