Wisconsin Rapids, WI (WFHR, WIRI)

Mid-State Technical College’s fall 2024 graduates were recognized during the College’s biannual commencement ceremony on the Wisconsin Rapids Campus, Saturday, Dec. 14. Out of a class of 417 graduates across the College’s four campuses, 130 crossed the Wisconsin Rapids stage to receive their diploma.

Mid-State Technical College President Dr. Shelly Mondeik congratulates Barber Technologist graduate Jonathon Malnory during the presentation of diplomas at Mid-State’s fall commencement on the Wisconsin Rapids Campus, Dec. 14, 2024.

“As you prepare to begin this next chapter, my hope for you is simple,” said Mid-State President Dr. Shelly Mondeik in her address to the graduating class. “Use the knowledge and skills that you’ve gained, the friendships you’ve formed and the lessons from both your victories and your setbacks to propel forward. Your impact will be profound, reaching far beyond what you can imagine today.”

The celebration highlighted the College’s Nursing program and included a faculty send-off by Kelly Nelson, Nursing instructor and program director. The student address was delivered by Nursing graduate Samantha Hanley, Wisconsin Rapids.

Nursing graduate Samantha Hanley delivers the student address at Mid-State’s fall commencement on the Wisconsin Rapids Campus, Dec. 14, 2024.

“The mountains we face—whether personal, professional or academic—are waiting for us to climb them, and with the education we’ve received at Mid-State Technical College, we are ready,” said Hanley in her student address. “Mid-State has given us the tools, the knowledge and the confidence to excel in our chosen fields. We have learned more than just facts and figures here. We’ve learned how to think critically, how to problem solve and how to keep moving forward, no matter how steep the climb.”

The event also featured an address from Mid-State’s Board Chairperson Richard Merdan and an alumni address from Mid-State’s 2024 Distinguished Alumni Award winner, Stephen Kage, 1978 graduate of the Civil Engineering program who went on to a long and successful career in the oil and gas exploration industry.
“Just outside those doors, your career is waiting for you,” said Kage in his remarks. “Consider it an empty painter’s canvas and you as the artist. Decades from now, as you look back on your career, may you gaze upon the most beautiful masterpiece your eyes have ever seen.”
“Congratulations and best wishes to today’s graduating class, and a warm welcome to our new alumni members,” Kage added.

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