DALLAS TWP. — With a processional led by a contingent of bagpipers, Misericordia University welcomed 412 first-year students during its annual convocation ceremony Thursday in the Wells Fargo Amphitheater.
The convocation program included a welcome by Misericordia University President Thomas J. Botzman, and an address by Stephanie J. Anderson (’68), the founder and retired president of Knowledge Design Group, a national performance consulting and learning services firm based in Emmaus. During the convocation ceremony, Misericordia University Alumni Association President Mark Oberstaedt (’89) presented Mrs. Anderson with the Mother Mary Catherine McGann Achievement Award.
A graduate receives the honor for distinguished and sustained career accomplishments. Having recently celebrated with her classmates at their 50th reunion in June, Mrs. Anderson said that as a first-year student 54 years ago, she could’ve never imagined where her Misericordia education or career would take her.
“The fact that I am here today, speaking to you is no doubt a surprise to some of my classmates, as well as to me. The point I would like to make … is that undergraduate work is a time to lay the foundation to begin your career, support future career growth and successes in your life.”
Anderson earned a bachelor’s degree in business education from Misericordia University in 1968. Soon after earning her degree, she accepted a teaching position at Emmaus High School, where she remained for the next 10 years. In 1980, she made a career change and joined ComputerLand, a national reseller of personal computers, as training director for the Lehigh Valley Group. At ComputerLand, she designed one-day seminars for business executives, before branching out and developing learning programs for use across the network.
Capitalizing on new developments in technology, she combined her education and training skills to develop and work for a series of companies on the cutting edge of computer training and education. She is credited for developing industry-leading technology training seminars and applications that were used by computer giants Microsoft, Apple and IBM to provide learning solutions for Fortune 500 companies.
In 2001, Mrs. Anderson and her husband, Dr. George Anderson, Ed.D., launched Knowledge Design Group Inc. to provide learning solutions consulting to companies, school districts, and government agencies.
“Have fun and choose to be happy,” she told the students.
The convocation ceremony welcomes first-year students and their families to Misericordia and acts as the official start to the new academic year.
Orientation begins later in the afternoon and continues until the first day of classes Monday, Aug. 27. The program includes the Orientation Day of Service in which first-year students and other members of the campus community volunteer in the region.
Misericordia received 1,935 applications for the first-year class, which hails from nine states, including Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Virginia. They hold an average high school grade point average of 3.42 with a median SAT score of 1126 and 23 on the ACTs.
The university also welcomed 72 transfer students. With the new class of students, the university will have more than 2,570 undergraduate and graduate students in full- and part-time academic programs for the fall semester. Misericordia has 960 students scheduled to live in residence halls and townhomes on campus.
