Mother, Daughter Share Graduation Spotlight
The adage “like mother, like daughter” took on new meaning for Lisa and Amy Burns recently. The mother-daughter duo each walked across the stage to receive bachelor’s degrees from Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, as part of its spring 2008 commencement ceremony on Saturday, May 17.
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| Amy and Lisa Burns |
“I wanted her to walk with me; I’m proud of her,” said daughter Amy. “I thought it’d be special. She worked so hard and she deserves it.” Amy graduated with a Bachelor of Science in psychology from the School of Humanities and Social Sciences.
Even after taking classes part-time for more than a decade, Lisa admits it was her daughter’s encouragement that persuaded her to don the cap and gown at commencement. “This is her big day,” said Lisa, who received a Bachelor of Science in management from the Sam and Irene Black School of Business. “I didn’t want to take anything away from her.”
Although they are ending at the same place, their journeys toward four-year degrees were very different. In 1997, Lisa—a longtime part-time employee at Erie Insurance—had been in her full-time position for one year, the company’s required timeframe before employees become eligible for educational benefits. She has an associate degree in letters, arts and sciences from Penn State Behrend, which allowed Lisa to begin taking core classes immediately—sometimes two a semester, sometimes only one.
Amy’s more traditional approach to higher education began in fall 2004 after she graduated from Harbor Creek High School. She says that Penn State Behrend was the obvious choice since it was the same school that her mother and brother were attending. In addition to Amy, Lisa and her husband, Denny, have a 24-year-old son, Chris, who started at Penn State Behrend before transferring to the University Park campus. Chris earned a Bachelor of Arts in media studies from the College of Communications last spring.
Amy, who lived at home and commuted to Penn State Behrend, never saw her mom in class. “She either had evening classes or 8 a.m. classes—those weren’t for me,” joked the 21-year-old, who will celebrate her birthday on May 30.
So how did the family manage? “You just have to prioritize,” Lisa advised. “I always wanted to earn my bachelor’s. That might have meant that my house wasn’t always the cleanest. But I’m very blessed to have an understanding husband, who helped out a lot, and the kids helped too.
“If it’s something that you feel strongly about, you’ll figure it out,” Lisa added.
“Lisa is a common profile of an adult learner,” said Biddy Brooks, director of the Center for Adult Students, who has worked with Lisa Burns throughout her academic career. “Adult learners often work full-time jobs, have family responsibilities and attend classes on a part-time basis. But even with her busy lifestyle, Lisa managed to volunteer at our Adult Open Houses to talk with other prospective adult students about her experiences at Penn State Behrend.”
As Penn State Behrend alumni, Lisa, a personal lines underwriter, plans to continue at Erie Insurance, while Amy would like to go back to school for her teaching certificate; she wants to teach first grade. “I’m hoping to find a college with an excellent elementary and special education teaching program and look forward to staying in contact with my sorority, Alpha Sigma Tau,” she added.
Click here for a photo gallery of Penn State Behrend's spring 2008 commencement.
Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, is a comprehensive residential college offering 33 baccalaureate, six associate, four pre-professional and two graduate degree programs with 22 minors to more than 4,400 students. Focused on providing a student-centered environment, Penn State Behrend is the link that connects its students to a major research and land-grant institution on a campus enriched by more than 110 clubs and organizations, 21 NCAA varsity teams, 19 intramural sports and modern facilities. Penn State Behrend is named as such due to a donation by Mary Behrend, widow of Ernst Behrend, who founded the Hammermill Paper Co. in Erie in 1898. The Behrend family lived on the 400-acre Glenhill Farm, which is the core of the Penn State Behrend campus today. For more information, visit behrend.psu.edu.