Students from the Campbell University School of Education participated in the School’s annual Spring Convocation ceremony Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2007. For senior education majors, it marked the unofficial beginning of their professional careers, as they enter student-teaching programs in area school systems. Psychology, social work and family and consumer science majors also participated in the ceremony.Following the theme of “servant leadership,” students were commissioned to serve others as they enter the professional world or continue their academic studies. “Graduates of the School of Education — whether they in are psychology, social work, family and consumer sciences or education — are encouraged to be persons of vision, to look beyond the obvious as they become leaders in their profession,” said Dean Nery. One such leader is Sadie Outlaw Neel, a 1942 graduate of Campbell Junior College, and this year’s recipient of the Distinguished Service Award. After receiving her Associate of Arts degree from Campbell, Mrs. Neel went on to receive her Bachelor of Arts degree in Social Studies and French from Meredith College in 1944. For much of the next thirty years, Neel dedicated her life to teaching, serving in the Wayne and Wilson County School systems, before her retirement in 1983. Neel said her greatest joy is to see her students succeed. “I didn’t make a lot of money, but my rewards are coming now when I see them do good things,” she said. Dr. Gary Taylor repeated that sentiment as he proudly introduced the ceremony’s keynote speaker, Dr. John Christian, a 2001 psychology graduate of Campbell University. Christian earned his doctorate in clinical psychology from Indiana State University in 2006. He currently works as a licensed staff clinical psychologist for the Naval Hospital at Camp Lejeune Marine Corps Base. While service professions may not always bring wealth or recognition, Christian reminded students of their incredible potential to impact someone in need. “Why do we choose these fields? Most of us choose these fields because someone during our formative years touched our lives and we want to pass that on to others.” The Campbell University School of Education was formally established in December 1985. It provides coherence and administration integrity to professional education and three other service-oriented professional programs: Family and Consumer Sciences, Psychology and Social Work.
School of Education holds Convocation Ceremony