PNW graduation speaker emphasizes forging your own path

Chicago Tribune

12-05-2025

Had Samantha Paterson not liked animals more than people, she might've been headed to medical school, according to her family.
Instead, the 22-year-old Purdue University Northwest Biology Sciences graduate from Plymouth will attend a 15-month veterinary tech program in Indianapolis before making the leap to veterinary school, her mom Shalon Paterson and grandma, Susan O'Reilly, said as they waited for PNW's commencement ceremony to start Saturday morning.
'We're very proud. She's very sweet,' O'Reilly said. 'Even on the weekends, she's babysits dogs for people.'
'She's our first college graduate, and it's awe-inspiring,' added Paterson, who herself is working on her degree in pre-school education. 'She's had clients from the 9th grade, even though she's allergic to dog-bedding.'
PNW had 851 matriculators, with three nursing students earning their doctorates, it was announced during the ceremony. Like Paterson, more than half of the students walking in the ceremony were first-generation college graduates, and more than 200 of them received master's degrees.
President and CEO of Wilson Sporting Goods Joe Dudy was a first-generation college student when he graduated from PNW 33 years ago, he said during the keynote address. He was lucky to have a then-Purdue Calumet willing to accept him as a student, he said, because in high school, he was unenthusiastic about it for the first two years.
One of his teachers finally got through to him, Dudy said, and he started taking his education seriously. If he had a chance to do it over, he'd have taken it seriously from the start.
'I wish I didn't wait for somebody to inspire me, because our lives are precious,' said. 'It's up to us to write our own stories and do what we want and achieve.'
Among the advice he imparted to the students included 'writing your own story' — a phrase Wilson has used in an ad campaign — removing false limits on yourself and embracing change always. Doing so made his rise to CEO from entry-level accountant at the company easier to manage.
'There's a saying I love' 'Change is inevitable, but growth is optional',' he said.
Alejandro Dalamari, 25 of Steger, Illinois, has seen a lot of change last five years of his life. Starting his college career at Prairie State, the master's candidate in Business Information Analytics dealt with the COVID-19 pandemic closures about as well as anyone did, he said.
Then, in 2022, he suffered a stroke from which he made a full recovery, but made finishing school a lot tougher.
'I was at Prairie State, and then COVID hit. Then I went to (Illinois Institute of Technology) and hated it, so I didn't know what I was doing for a while,' he said. 'A friend recommended PNW, and it was the best thing I ever could've done.
'The professors were so helpful and wanted us to succeed.'
Luai Boarish, a student from Hasa, Saudi Arabia, wanted to come to the United States after his father worked here in 2002 because of opportunity. Boarish earned his degree in Electrical Engineering, and his brother, Khater Boarish, is still working on his.
'My dad told us we would learn so much more about culture by leaving (Hasa), and he was right,' he said. 'I've now even brought my wife, so the opportunities have been great.'