By: Haylie Berkland and Jessica Pacetti
With the end of the 2014-2015 school year and graduation being just a few weeks away, current seniors are preparing to walk across the stage during commencement.
As seniors make the transition from student to alumni, graduation is always an important event on college campuses. The commencement ceremony this year will be held at 10 a.m. on Saturday, June 13, in the Residence Hall and Recreation Center.
Although this location has been home to the commencement ceremony for the past five years, it has been located at various other areas such as Pfieffer Hall, on the green lawn outside of Oesterle Library, and even on the field of Benedetti-Weherli Stadium.
Leading up to the ceremony, seniors have the opportunity to participate in various events starting around the conclusion of finals and leading up to the Saturday of graduation. Events include the President’s reception for graduates, the Baccalaureate service, the graduation rehearsal and continental breakfast. Other traditions have slowly become a more known part of graduation, such as seniors decorating their graduation caps.
Graduation may occur every year with some similar events, but each year is different from the last. Each senior has their own experience and story to tell when it comes to graduation. Some may prepare for jobs that will follow graduation, others may prepare for graduate school, and some are open to taking different routes for their future, such as traveling.
Whether a student is graduating this year or graduated 20 years ago, each student and alumnus cherishes different memories that they created during their time at North Central. Here, several stories are shared from current North Central seniors and alumni about their graduation experiences. These stories reflect experiences from their commencement week and ceremony, where their future lies or the careers that they now have and the memories they have of their time at North Central.
Allie Youngren- ‘15
Allie Youngren is a senior psychology major who is looking forward to graduation.
“I’m most excited to celebrate with the rest of my class and for all of us to recognize how far we’ve come and that we’ve stuck through it all four years,” Youngren says.
As a part of the Senior Class Gift Committee, Youngren says that she and the rest of the committee are planning a “senior-themed week” during week 11, before the ceremony.
“Before graduation, there’s always the president’s reception,” Youngren says. “So people just kind of hang out around campus and soak up the last moments.”
In regards to the ceremony, Youngren says that graduating from a smaller school can make it all the more special.
“I know that since we’re a college, rather than a university, we don’t graduate with our college,” Youngren explains. “We graduate with our whole graduating class, which I think is really special, that you can graduate with everyone instead of just those in your academic major.”
Youngren says that the one thing she will miss at the ceremony, however, is the presence of Naperville’s mayor, George Pradel.
“He won’t be speaking and he’s always a really fun person to have at our ceremony,” Youngren says.
Overall, Youngren is preparing for the finality that graduation and the ceremony will bring with them.
“I’m expecting just a rush of emotions and feelings,” Youngren says. ”Once the ceremony comes, I think it’s just going to be a lot of coping and realizing that this is actually it. I think a lot of us seniors haven’t really thought about that, and it’ll be the very last time that we’re all together.”
Russel Tanzillo ‘15
Like the rest of his fellow 2015 classmates, senior Russel Tanzillo is preparing for graduation.
“I am looking forward to the Leadership Awards, but overall I am excited for everything,” says Tanzillo. “I am just enjoying everything and taking it all in.”
Tanzillo is majoring in broadcast communication with a minor in coaching. Currently he has a part time job at B96 in Chicago. His future plan involves having a full time job before graduation in the broadcast communication field. Tanzillo does have two locations that he has been talking to and has an interest in: CBS Radio in Las Vegas and another station in Montgomery, Ala.
Even with his sights on the future, Tanzillo is going to miss the close knit community of WONC members. “I am proud of all that the radio has accomplished. We won the best station in the nation award…it’s something that the whole school should be proud of.” He is also going to miss the relationship with the professors that have developed beyond just the classroom.
Despite missing those things, Tanzillo is looking forward for graduation because it marks the completion of four years and is leading to new experiences. “To my class, good luck. We have accomplished a lot academically and athletically. Congrats and good luck in the future.”
Amy Pastorek- ‘08
A graduate of 2008, Amy Pastorek’s advice to graduating seniors is to take it all in.
“You spend so much time waiting for that moment when they call your name,” Pastorek says, explaining that all of the festivities surrounding graduation can be difficult to appreciate at the time.
As Pastorek and the rest of her class prepared for the ceremony, however, she remembers that their rehearsal was moved from the stadium field, where the ceremony would take place the next day, to Merner Field House because of excessive wind.
After this, Pastorek recalls going to Kaufman Dining Hall for breakfast with the rest of her class on graduation day, something that she says she was not accustomed to as a commuter. “It was only my second time ever in Kaufman, so it was kind of weird,” Pastorek says.
Next, before the ceremony, Pastorek says that she and the other education majors met up to finish getting ready for the big show.
“All the education majors that couldn’t figure out their hoods and bobby pins met upstairs in the stadium and Dr. Kaiser helped us do our hoods and mortar-boards correctly,” Pastorek explains. “I still don’t know how to do the hood! Nobody knows how to wear it,” she jokes, saying that the hood was the worst part of graduation.
During the ceremony, Pastorek says that her favorite part was when, afterward, the teachers lined the aisles for the new graduates.
“We were supposed to just keep walking and I ran out of line to hug one of my professors,” Pastorek recalls.
After the ceremony Pastorek says that the education major then returned to the stadium for punch and cookies.
“It started out cloudy and then it ended up being a sunny day,” Pastorek concludes. “I like that I graduated on 6/7/08 because I can remember it when I’m 8,000 years old.”
Sue Pastorek- ‘73
It was 1973: the Vietnam War was raging on and, as a result, North Central College was hesitant to have a graduation.
Thus, in comes senior Sue Pastorek and her yearbook friends to take on this challenge themselves.
Pastorek explains the process of doing so, saying that she chose an organist from the library to play the traditional “Pomp and Circumstance,” while her and her friends also chose the student speakers for the ceremony.
With only approximately 600 total students at North Central at this time, the ceremony was held in Pfieffer Hall, after Baccalaureate in the morning.
“North Central was so small and nice and cozy,” Pastorek recalls of the time when things were much different at this school. Pastorek says that when she started at North Central, there were only three degrees: a Bachelor of Science and two music degrees.
Thus, after this smaller ceremony ended, Pastorek says that graduates filled the streets.
“Everyone poured out of Pfieffer Hall and went and hung out in the street,” Pastorek says, explaining that all of the graduates met back up with their parents out there and enjoyed their last moments together.
“As you’re getting married and having kids, you lose touch,” Pastorek explains. “But now that I’m retired, three of us get together every summer.”
Overall, Pastorek says that she enjoyed her college experience.
“I loved college. It was a blast,” Pastorek concludes. “I still get a homesick feeling when I drive through campus, especially in the fall.”
Heather Breed ‘98
North Central Senior Associate Director of Freshman Admission, Heather Breed, graduated NCC with a bachelor’s of arts in business management in 1998.
As graduation rolled closer for Breed during her senior year at North Central, she was a bit nervous.
“I guess I was nervous of the uncertainty of the next step. For my whole life I had things planned out and now reality came: loans, housing, and no more relying on parents,” says Breed. “However, I was excited because I considered myself and adult.”
Graduation for the class of 2010 was located outside on the field of Benedetti-Wherli Stadium because Res/Rec was not built at this time. Breed remembers the day being very hot sitting on the field, while the parents and families were seated behind them in the bleachers.
Despite the June heat, Breed remembers her ceremony with former president, Hal Wilde, speaking to the students and Dev Pandian reading off the names of the graduates as they received their diplomas.
However, one moment that stuck out to her was the faculty following the ceremony.
“I remember the faculty lined up and they were clapping as we walked out. I thought it was really cool,” says Breed.
As the class of 2015 heads to graduation, Breed offers this advice: “I would tell them to continue to take advantage of NCC resources, especially career development, and hold tight to the connections you made here with faculty and staff.”
Christopher Lencioni ‘10
For Christopher Lencioni graduation has left him with several memories.
One memory was Friday, June 11, 2010, when the Chicago Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup for the first time that night. “It was a memorable moment, and I believe they went into overtime during the game, so technically they won on the day we graduated,” says Lencioni.
On Saturday, June 12, more memories formed for Lencioni as he and his roommates of Townhome Hall, now known as Schneller Hall, prepared for the commencement ceremony. As him and his roommates got ready, all of them had one question on their mind, but none said it out loud: what do we do now?
However, after the commencement ceremony concluded in the Res/Rec center, Lencioni’s mind changed from “what now” to seeing the future as the next step in life.
The ceremony was filled with speeches that Lencioni remembers. He said the mayor of Naperville was entertaining, while another speaker was not that good as her speech felt more like she was reading a resume. However, former NCC President Hal Wilde’s comment still sticks with Lencioni today.
“He said that we were one of the most involved classes he has ever seen at North Central,” he said.
As for advice for current seniors, Lencioni states “Don’t miss it (commencement). Like be in the moment, enjoy the moment because when it’s said and done and listen to the four hours of speeches, you realize that’s what you have been working for four years.”
Chris Drennan- ‘09
With a business management major and a minor in finance, Chris Drennan graduated North Central in 2009 with a bachelor of science degree.
As a Freshman Admissions Counselor for the college, Drennan reflects back on his time as a student at North Central, mainly his senior year.
Because Drennan finished with his classes during winter term of his senior year, he was not able to attend many of the graduation festivities. However, he remembers other parts of the spring celebrations.
“I just always remember Spring Fest,” Drennan says.
He also recalls some of the festivities during Senior Week. “There was always honors day, but it’s gotten a lot bigger.”
As far as the actual day of graduation in June, Drennan recalls that weather affected his ceremony. Dreannan and his fellow 2010 graduates were not lucky when it came to nice weather.
“It was supposed to be outside, because they used to do it in the Stadium, and they waited and they waited on the weather,” Drennan says. “They finally announced that the weather was too bad, so they moved it into Merner. That was all before we had Res/Rec though. Now it’s a lot easier just doing it in Res/Rec, it seems.”
