Have a glorious summer, folks, without being too overwhelmed with these last days of the quarter. Don’t forget our spring social, June 5 at 2:00 p.m. Check your email for place. We’ll be honoring the Women’s Studies’ Student of the Year as well as our other graduates. Women’s Studies is saying farewell to an amazing group of young women, all of whom will Ado us proud,@ I am sure. On a somber note, June Cannon will be honored in a memorial service on June 10 at noon. The ceremony will be conducted by the Psychology Department, the Child and Family Studies program, and Women’s Studies.

Students have been coming in for course advising especially this quarter. If they have not already seen Gloria or me, I urge them to do so soon A clear sense of what to take in the next four semesters will save time and anguish when graduation comes near.

Congratulations to Women’s Studies faculty members Barry Gomberg and Kathleen Herndon who were chosen by Your Community Connection as two of the recipients of 1998 Mattie Wattis Harris Spirit of the American Woman Awards. Barry received one of two "Courage to Care" awards and Kathleen received the "Higher Education" award. Congratulations also to Women’s Studies faculty and students who are finalists for Crystal Crest awards including Sally Bishop Shigley (Master Teacher), Lani Rowe (Personality of the Year), and Rebeca Boyd (Talent and Woman of the Year.)

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It has become A June Tradition to replace the Faculty Profile with news of our graduating W.S. minors. This year’s group is outstanding (as usual, but in different ways.)

Rebeca Boyd completes her major in Music and leaves us with regrets that we will no longer be able to hear her play violin in the Honors String Quartet. In addition to the recognition mentioned above, Rebeca has been chosen as the Outstanding Women’s Studies Student for this year. She will enjoy a brief hiatus from academics before continuing to hone her considerable musical talent, studying violin in a graduate program.

June Cannon’s summa cum laude degree will be awarded posthumously during a memorial celebration on 10 June. WSU President Paul Thompson will present her diploma to her husband, Bill; the Women’s Studies Program will present individual plaques to each of her children in remembrance of her indomitable spirit. Before her untimely death, June had plans to attend graduate school in Psychology.

Deborah Finn will graduate with a Bachelor of Integrated Studies degree, including areas of concentration in Sociology, Ethnic Studies and Women’s Studies. Deb has worked for some time, and in several capacities, at Hill Air Force Base, and she has been selected as a participant in the Palace Acquire (PAQ) program, providing training for upper-level management positions within the civil service system. She will be moving to Georgia and Robins A.F.B. in July, to begin her studies 3 August.

Lisa Jensen will receive her B.A. in English, having made many contributions to the campus, including articles for the "Signpost" and serving on the staff of the student literary journal, "Metaphor", this past year as editor. In Lisa’s words, after graduation she "plan(s) on falling down and not getting up for a year or two" and then applying to George Washington University to pursue an M.A. in Women’s Studies and Public Policy.

Michael Murphy, also an English major, will continue her career with the I.R.S. until she is eligible to retire in 2 ½ years. Her immediate plans include taking a vacation and enjoying a new grandbaby. Her long-range plans involve continuing her education in graduate school, pursuing a master’s and, perhaps, doctoral degree in English and Women’s Studies.

Crystal Schmidt majored in Gerontology and has been working at Mapleridge Adult Day Care Center in Ogden. She plans to continue working there and also enter a program at Salt Lake Community College to become credentialed as a Therapeutic Recreational Therapist.

Karen Sutphin will complete her Social Work degree after an interrupted undergraduate career. After beginning her coursework, she dropped out of school for a few year, working at the Women’s Recovery Center. Returning this past year, she completed her classes and also became the first Women’s Studies student to take advantage of the newly approved internship course. Her work at the Y.C.C. shelter resulted in a model project and report for those students who follow her "applied knowledge" footsteps.

Although she no longer belongs to us formally, I’d also like to claim Barbara Blakeley among our graduates. She has spent most of the last two years completing the requirements for a degree in Communicative Disorders from Utah State, because that program is not available at Weber. However, her Women’s Studies minor comprises only Weber State courses because, once she got the taste, she couldn’t get enough and she took even more than the required number of credit hours prior to leaving our campus. Barbara plans to attend a graduate program in her major field (unless her burning desire to open a bookstore/coffee house gets the better of her.)

A request that I make of our students as they graduate is to share some reflections on their experience in the program. We all know how gratifying it is to hear good news, and so far that’s all I’ve heard. Lisa found her experience in the program to be invaluable to her and those with whom she associates because of the "broad spectrum of learning, knowing, and understanding" she has gained and, she adds, expresses freely! Rebeca, Michael and Deb appreciated the mentoring they have received from Women’s Studies faculty and found stimulation and personal satisfaction in the academically challenging coursework. The consciousness-raising aspect of the discipline was particularly important to Deb as she developed her career goals. Rebeca values the strength she has felt and developed in the network of mutual support both in and out of the classroom. Crystal was encouraged by the opportunity to spend time thinking about issues facing older women, something many of us "foremothers" will undoubtedly appreciate when she is taking care of US! Michael was struck with "the power of learning about women all over the world" and the role they played in enabling her to "achieve my own potential in this great adventure we call life."

Our heartiest congratulations to this wonderful group of women and our best wishes for their exciting futures!

CALENDAR

3 June - Presentation of research proposals by WS 405 students; UB352; 11:30 a.m-1:30 p.m.

5 June - Exec. Council meeting, 2 p.m. ; End-of-school Social, 2:30 p.m.; SS115.

10 June - Memorial for June Cannon, noon, Sage Room, Educ. Bldg.

11 - 12 June - Commencement/Graduation

15-19 June - Fourth Annual Logan Canyon Writers’ Workshop; for more info., call (435) 753-2970 or 755-0833.

22 June - Summer Quarter classes begin.

Remember that the Women’s Studies Office closes over the summer, 15 June - 24 August. To contact us, please leave a message at 626-7632; we will check voice-mail regularly.