Meet the Class of 2024!
![Meet the Class of 2018 Municipal Auditorium](/sites/default/files/styles/news_hero/public/Commencement-2.jpg?itok=ekzVxdtb)
On Saturday, hundreds of 澳门六合开奖 students will receive their degrees in front of family members and friends during the spring commencement ceremony at Municipal Auditorium. Below, a few members of the Class of 2024 tell their stories.
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Ingrid Gomez
Ingrid Gomez鈥檚 mother calls her the 鈥減ioneer鈥 of the family.
From North Kansas City, Missouri, Gomez is the oldest of her siblings, and the first to attend college. It鈥檚 a status that she said fills her with pride and, at times, has come with challenges.
鈥淚 had to kind of go head-first into college, into making some mistakes, into figuring out the process, into seeking guidance,鈥 she said. 鈥淓verything was so new.鈥
She remembers attending the frosh getaway, a retreat held for first-year students at the beginning of the academic year, and writing a letter to her future self.
鈥淚 remember I was so emotional and feeling that not sure if I was going to develop community over the next four years. Not sure if I'm going to make friends,鈥 she said. 鈥淚 was so blind to how much Rockhurst was going to give to me.鈥
Gomez has grown into a student leader as a resident assistant, a member of Student Senate, a volunteer at the JayDoc free medical clinic and a resident in the sustainability wing of the Kateri Community, among other activities. She attended the Ignatian Family Teach-In for Justice, a social-justice-focused gathering of Jesuit students from across the country, which helped plot her dream career after earning her biomedical physics degree.
After graduation, Gomez is heading to New York City, where she will serve as a patient advocate for the summer at Bellevue Hospital, the city鈥檚 safety net facility. Then she heads to Phoenix, Arizona, to serve as a doula for a year with an organization called Maggie鈥檚 Place with the Americorps program. From there, medical school is the goal, with a focus on women鈥檚 health and an interest in how policy can affect outcomes.
鈥淚 really think that the experiences that I've gotten at Rockhurst have set me up for extreme success in these roles that I will go out into the world and take on,鈥 she said.
BreAnna Droge
鈥淕o forth and set the world on fire,鈥 a phrase often attributed to St. Ignatius Loyola, the founder of the Jesuit order, is not meant to be taken literally. But if it did happen, BreAnna Droge is who you would call.
This Topeka, Kansas, native will complete two academic milestones in as many weeks. Not only is she completing her Bachelor of Arts degree in Spanish with a minor in medical Spanish from Rockhurst, but on May 17, she will also complete her fire academy training with her hometown Topeka Fire Department.
It鈥檚 a dream that started in high school when she participated in Camp Courage, a program that aims to inspire young females to pursue careers as firefighters. Upon completion of fire academy, she becomes the first Camp Courage attendee to join the department.
鈥淭he camp was Monday through Friday,鈥 she recalled of her experience at Camp Courage. 鈥淏y Tuesday, I knew that鈥檚 what I wanted to do.鈥
Droge transferred from community college to Rockhurst to play softball for a year before starting fire academy and to complete her bachelor鈥檚 degree. Balancing all of those demands has been challenging at times, she said. But earning a degree in Spanish听will make her a better first responder, she said, which is especially critical when lives are on the line.
鈥淭here are a lot of people in our communities who can鈥檛 communicate as well as they want to,鈥 she said, 鈥渁nd in the medical field, that can really impact the level of care that they're given. Spanish was not only about helping my resume, but to be able to help the community I鈥檓 serving.鈥
LaNeki Freeman
Fiction and fact are not as far apart as they seem, according to LaNeki Freeman.
An English major on the writing track, Freeman said she鈥檚 been writing for most of her life.
She was named the poet laureate at her high school, Cristo Rey in Kansas City, and was asked to write and read a poem at an assembly in front of the whole school 鈥斕齩n the morning of the event. As a student at Rockhurst, Freeman said she wrote a short story about what she called an 鈥渆ntity,鈥 who relishes the ability to erase its host鈥檚 memory.
鈥淚 realized that that was about someone important to me who was having memory problems,鈥 she said. 鈥淪tories were an outlet for me. That's how I coped with a lot of things.鈥
To someone who didn鈥檛 experience it firsthand, the events of 2020 might read like fiction 鈥 from the COVID-19 pandemic to global protests following the killing of George Floyd. But that was the reality that Freeman came to college with. It inspired her, at the urging of a faculty member, to form a new student group, BIPOCA+ Student Support Group, to provide resources for students from different backgrounds. Freeman said she鈥檚 proud to have played a part in an organization that鈥檚 become an active part of campus life. The experience forced her to come out of her shell, as well.
鈥淚 still value being alone sometimes but I know how to operate with others and build connections, which I probably wasn't going to do before that group,鈥 she said.
After graduation, Freeman will work for a local bank while studying for the LSAT and then apply for law school. Freeman said it鈥檚 a way to use her skill in writing and a dream that she鈥檚 had since she was young.
鈥淚 played dress up, but it wasn't like princess dresses and things like that,鈥 she said. 鈥淚 played lawyer. I had a suit, and I would dress up in it all the time, until the buttons fell off, and I had a briefcase that I think was my grandparents.鈥
Manny Osorio
Having experienced the first two years of college mostly through a screen, Manny Osorio was ready to hit the ground running.
The St. Louis, Missouri, Spanish major and general business minor began his education at Rockhurst learning remotely because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Once on campus, those relationships that started during remote meetings flourished. So did Osorio, who stepped up as a campus leader through organizations such as SOL (Student Organization of Latinos) and BIPOCA+ Student Support Group. He also served as a student leader for the Hawk Scholars program, which offers extra support to students coming to Rockhurst from historically underrepresented groups.
鈥淚 was doing a little bit of everything because I really wanted to get a feel for that traditional college life, especially since I hadn't experienced that my first two years,鈥 he said.
As a leader for Hawks Scholars, Osorio encouraged new students to take the same opportunity to embrace the opportunities presented to them and explore their passions. For Osorio, that has meant focusing on efforts aimed at creating a more welcoming campus, from Hawk Scholars to student groups like SOL and the Black Student Union (all while finding the time to complete Rockhurst鈥檚 rigorous Honors Program). With those organizations, Osorio said he helped plan events throughout the year to celebrate diversity on campus 鈥斕 a game night for Hispanic Heritage Month, a speaker for Native American Heritage Month, and a Black History Month event in February, to name a few. The event Osorio said he鈥檚 most proud of was in March. It was听a panel discussion and networking night with women of color, allowing current students to both learn from and connect with established alumni.
鈥淢y goal and my mission for this school year was to have different racial and ethnic groups represented at our school and uplift their voices here on our campus,鈥 he said.
In addition to a passion for programs that highlight and celebrate diversity, Osorio also discovered a passion for business at Rockhurst. After taking several courses, he said he wanted to pursue a general business minor and plans to pursue his Master of Business Administration degree following graduation. With that, he said he hopes to serve Spanish-speaking communities.
Sharonda Brown
Despite working in health care for most of her adult life, Sharonda Brown recalls the advice she received upon starting the Bachelor of Science in Nursing program at 澳门六合开奖.
鈥淲hat they told us is to forget everything that we thought we knew,鈥 she said.
What might have started as a shock soon became an opportunity she would embrace, she said.
鈥淚 have been a CNA for almost 20 years,鈥 she said. 鈥淭o get in the mindset of building a new foundation helped a lot. Because what you think you know, you don鈥檛 know.鈥
For Brown, the path to a nursing degree started decades ago 鈥撎齨ot just to when she earned her CNA certification at age 19, but her childhood.
鈥淚 think I was in seventh grade and remember thinking, yeah, I want to be a nurse,鈥 she said.
Getting here hasn鈥檛 always been easy. Brown has a family at home and has needed to take care of her mother, who has been in and out of the hospital after sustaining injuries in two separate falls. And she鈥檚 balanced her life as a student with demands at home. But at Rockhurst, Brown said she鈥檚 found a community of nursing students and faculty that inspired her to always keep going. She鈥檚 even found a specialty 鈥斕齝ardiac health 鈥斕齠rom one of her faculty members.
鈥淚鈥檝e just been crazy about the heart since I took that class,鈥 she said.
After graduation, Brown will begin work in a cardiac unit on Kansas City鈥檚 Country Club Plaza, putting to use all of those lessons learned studying for her BSN.