On Saturday at 10:30 a.m., Pfeiffer University will celebrate its 2012 spring commencement at its Misenheimer campus.
The majority of the class of 2012, who completed requirements for graduation either in December 2011 or May 2012, are from cities and towns across North Carolina. Of the 141 graduates, approximately half have earned bachelor’s degrees in business administration, criminal justice, elementary education, exercise science, psychology or sports management.
Dr. Michael Brown, senior minister, Marble Collegiate Church in New York City, will give the commencement address. Brown, a native of Asheboro, graduated from High Point University and Duke Divinity School and received his doctorate of ministry from Drew Theological Seminary.
Prior to joining Marble Collegiate, the church served for 52 years by Dr. Norman Vincent Peale, he was senior minister to the 4,000-member Centenary United Methodist Church in Winston-Salem. He has taught ethics at the College for Seniors at UNC-Asheville, New Testament at High Point University and congregational change at Wake Forest University Divinity School.
Remarkable students from the Class of 2012 include:
• Arsena Todd Schroeder, Charlotte, Pfeiffer’s first Knapp Scholar and Gates Millennium Scholar. Graduating summa cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in communication studies, Arsena is headed to UNC Charlotte to earn a master’s degree in school counseling with extended support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, administered through the United Negro College Fund.
The Knapp Scholars Program, funded by the Knapp Family Foundation, in particular Pfeiffer trustee Robert D. Knapp and his wife Marcia, supports deserving low-income students who have demonstrated extraordinary scholarship and extra-curricular achievement. Arsena’s career goals include opening a family counseling business with her husband, Stephen, who will graduate from Pfeiffer in December.
• Zachary McMichael, Raleigh, who will attend Washington University School of Law in St. Louis, Mo., on full scholarship to study patent law. Zach, a competitive swimmer, chemistry major and Milton Rose Scholar, was introduced to St. Louis last summer during a paid internship with agricultural and biotechnology leader Monsanto, where he will work again this summer before classes begin. Committed to living in St. Louis for at least three years while he completes his studies, Zach will move there with his fianceé Ashley Zeek.
• Ashley Zeek, Anthem, Ariz., will teach high school biology in St. Louis, Mo., for Teach For America, the national teacher corps of recent college graduates who commit two years to teach in under-resourced urban and rural public school districts. A biology/chemistry major and basketball player who spent summer 2011 conducting research in Madagascar through Pfeiffer’s biology department, Ashley will fulfill her teaching commitment before applying to and completing medical school.
• Several Pfeiffer graduates have been accepted to divinity school at prestigious seminaries. They are: Grady Wiley, Princeton Theological Seminary, Princeton, N.J.; Rachel Ford, Vanderbilt University Divinity School, Nashville, Tenn.; Laura Owens, Boston School of Theology; Aaron Duncan, Wesley Theological Seminary, Washington, D.C.; and Stephen Weymouth, Pfeiffer University, M.A., Practical Theology, Charlotte.
At the graduation ceremony, Brown will receive an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters in recognition of his writings and contributions to his profession. Pfeiffer will also confer an honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts on Dr. Lawrence J. Wheeler, director, North Carolina Museum of Art in Raleigh. Wheeler graduated from Pfeiffer University in 1965 with degrees in history and French.