Ceremony Marks Largest Winter Class with 649 Graduate Candidates

The College of Southern Maryland (CSM) recognized 649 candidates for degrees and certificates during its 15th Winter Commencement held Jan. 16 at the La Plata Campus.

“Each one of our graduates has a story and we are proud of each and every one of them. Each one has so much potential and it is our responsibility to prepare them to be successful in achieving their future goals,” said CSM President Dr. Brad Gottfried.

Gottfried told students that he is impressed at the perseverance of students who have completed their studies while working, raising families and volunteering in the community.

“You have chosen to make sacrifices in your life now in order to invest in a more promising future. We hope you stay part of this college, your college, and to your community. This is now your alma mater and we take great pride in your accomplishments,” Gottfried said.

The college awarded 625 associate degrees and 298 certificates: 40.4 percent of the students receiving awards are from Charles County, 30.2 percent are from St. Mary’s County and 24.7 percent are from Calvert County while 4.8 percent are from outside of the region. One-quarter of all associate degree candidates for graduation earned a 3.5 grade point average or higher.

The ceremony marked CSM’s milestone of its largest winter graduating class. Associate degrees were awarded predominantly in the fields of general studies, business administration, and arts and sciences, while general studies: transfer and advanced and basic accounting topped the list as the most popular certificates. Of the graduates, more than 64 percent are female, the oldest graduate is 71 and the youngest graduate is 17.

Oldest Graduate

Graduate Eileene Zimmer, of Waldorf, at age 71 earned an associate degree in Arts and Sciences: Mathematics/Physics. Although Zimmer previously had earned a bachelor’s degree in food science and nutrition from Brigham Young University in Utah and a master’s degree in industrial and labor relations from Cornell University in New York, she wanted to pursue a field that she had struggled with at the beginning of her academic pursuits.

“I stopped taking math after not doing well in pre-calculus [in my early college experience]. I thought I would try to go back and try again after receiving a notice for an open house at CSM,” said Zimmer. In January 2011, she registered for college algebra.

Zimmer received support from her four sons. “One said, ‘Why are you doing this?’ and one I inspired to return to give calculus another chance,” said Zimmer. Another son is a mathematics instructor who she will lean on when she returns to CSM to take a course in linear algebra this spring. Zimmer said that she wants to be an example to her grandchildren that learning doesn’t end when you have a family—learning doesn’t ever have to end.

Zimmer is applying for tutoring jobs and when she completes the second part of “Concepts of Geometry and Algebra for Teachers” she hopes to teach math at a middle school.

Youngest Graduate

The youngest student, Magen Stempin, 17, of La Plata, got an early start in her collegiate academic pursuits. When she was in sixth grade, she read about a program at Mary Baldwin College (MBC), west of Charlottesville, Va., where students could begin college after middle school through a middle coll