Defiance College holds commencement; awards honorary degree to Randall Buchman

May 21, 2018

DEFIANCE, Ohio - One hundred and sixty-four graduates were awarded diplomas during Defiance College’s 2018 commencement ceremony on Saturday, May 5. Emeritus professor Randall Buchman was recognized with an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters for 50-plus years of service to Defiance College.

In 1964, Buchman joined DC as a history professor. From 1976 to 1987, he joined the College’s advancement office, then returned to the classroom where he remained until retiring in 1996. For the next several years, he assisted the advancement staff in developing a planned giving program. He retired yet again in 2002 to give more time to his role as historian for the city of Defiance.

Also recognized during commencement ceremonies were Pilgrim Medal recipients Edward Buhl and graduating senior Adam McGinnis, Bloomville. The Pilgrim Medal is the highest honor awarded by the College and recognizes specific traits in awardees – reliance in self, pride in work, courage in conscience, strength in education, and faith in God.

Craig Rutter, Associate Professor of Exercise Science, was awarded the title of Professor Emeritus in recognition of his 35 and a half years of service to the College. He retires having served as faculty member as well as formerly heading the men’s baseball team. In 2001, he began a new role as Director of Service Learning. He later became Assistant Athletic Director of Student-Athlete Engagement, and in 2012 became Coordinator of Student-Athlete Engagement. He developed service learning initiatives locally and across the country. Rutter forged a connection between DC and the community of Highgate, Jamaica, leading 25 service trips to Jamaica over 18 years.

Delivering the commencement address was Pam Borton, a 1987 alumnus of Defiance College. She is the President & CEO of Borton Partners, an executive coaching firm, and delivers dynamic keynote presentations nationally. She also co-founded Women ON Point, a leadership summit for executive women. In 2007, Borton was inducted into DC’s Alumni Varsity D Hall of Fame.

MacKenzie Combs, Milford Center, spoke on behalf of the graduating class.

Receiving diplomas were:

Bachelor of Arts
Jakob Adkins, Defiance; Courtney Alexander, Bristolville, Ohio, cum laude; Lisa Beverly, Delta, Ohio; Brian Brown, Defiance, magna cum laude; Kolton Davis, Toledo, Ohio; Elisabeth DeClaire, Canton, Mich.; Daniel Delorieux, Tampa, Fla.; Jared Feffer, Grand Rapids, Ohio; Mason Gross, St. Marys, Ohio, magna cum laude; Leah Heddinger, Farmington, Minn.; Javone Hilliard, Indianapolis, Ind.; Christopher Holmes, Indianapolis, Ind.; Parker Houk, Montpelier, Ohio; Brian Jackson, Melbourne, Fla.; Jimeca Jackson, Indianapolis, Ind.;

Caroline Klein, Napoleon, Ohio; Bryton Lear, Covington, Ohio; Ryan Mack, Defiance; Kandee Manson, Paulding; Alex Marciniak, Lisle, Ill.; Adam McGinnis, Bloomville, Ohio, magna cum laude; Bryan Mestre, Hialeah, Fla.; Remick Pearson, Kernersville, N.C.; Logan Petersen, Napoleon, Ohio; Nathon Principe, Fort Wayne, Ind.; Aaron Schwarzbek, Sherwood, Ohio, cum laude; Zoe Smith, Defiance; Kollin Spence, Deshler, Ohio, summa cum laude; Michael Vasko, Archbold, Ohio; Baily Thomas Weatherwax, Chelsea, Mich.; Kaleb Westrick, Bryan, Ohio; Mekai White, Mount Healthy, Ohio; Eline Widman, Tiffin, Ohio; and Mark Williams, Plain City, Ohio.

Bachelor of Science
Kristin Aslanian, Trenton, Mich.; Kelly Bales, Defiance; Samantha Basham, Bellville, Ohio; cum laude; Calli Bauer, Galion, Ohio; Dalton Bettis, Minerva, Ohio, cum laude; Jacob Bickel, Fort Wayne, Ind.; Zachary Bires, Amherst, Ohio, summa cum laude; Kendrick Bischoff, Napoleon, Ohio; Dalton Bradford, Continental, Ohio; Andrew Brown, Englewood, Ohio; Martin Bush, Defiance, summa cum laude; Hollie Carroll, West Unity, Ohio;

Jamison Clark, Defiance; Paul Collins, Altamonte Springs, Fla.; MacKenzie Combs, Milford Center, Ohio, summa cum laude; Erin Conner, Sycamore, Ohio, magna cum laude; Grayson Conney, Norwalk, Ohio; Michael Cox, Bryan, Ohio; Richard Custar, Pioneer, Ohio, summa cum laude; Jerome Davis III, Jupiter, Fla.; Denique Dennis, St. Mary, Jamaica, summa cum laude; Tre DeVoe, Allen Park, Mich.;

Morgan Dougherty, Cambridge, Ohio; Mackenzie Edwards, Kingston, Ontario; Tim Feasel, Ottoville, Ohio; Danielle Ferguson, North Baltimore, Ohio; Alexandra Fowler, Seville, Ohio; Taylor Gillig, Tiffin, Ohio, cum laude; Tyler Gillig, Tiffin, Ohio; Keandre Gilmer, Toledo, Ohio; Samantha Gomez, Defiance, summa cum laude; Reed Guerin, Boynton Beach, Fla.; Adam Harner, New London, Ohio; Taylor Haydinger, Defiance, magna cum laude;

Christine Helberg, Napoleon, Ohio; Nathanael Hicks, Toledo, Ohio, Cum laude; Ricardo Jimenez, Cooper City, Fla.; Victoria Johnston, Spencerville, Ohio; Kenneth Jones, Toledo, Ohio; Gabrielle Justice, Columbus, Ohio; Kevin Kaplan, Holgate, Ohio; Sarah Kaya, Lorain, Ohio, summa cum laude; Ashlyn Killion, Defiance, summa cum laude; Nicholas Kleptz, Troy, Ohio; Marissa Kosier, Ney, Ohio; Libby Leach, Cheshire, Ohio;

William LeClair, Lake Villa, Ill.; Toni-Ann Ledgister, St. Mary, Jamaica, summa cum laude; Daiton Lemmon, Medina, Mich.; Tyler Lown, Milan, Mich.; Laura Lutzke, Williamston, Mich., magna cum laude; Gabriel Marquez, Porterville, Calif.; Lea McCoy, Rittman, Ohio, cum laude; Katherine McGlacken, Greensboro, N.C.; Chase McLendon, Imlay City, Mich.; Brittany Mealer, Defiance; Cody Meinert, Deerfield, Mich., magna cum laude;

Christian Meister, Ontario, Ohio; Kassandra Memmer, Bowling Green, Ohio; Alek Menyhart, Hartland, Mich.; Alex Miday, Canton, Ohio; Markell Moncrief, Farmington Hills, Mich.; Victoria Mueller, Buchanan, Mich.; Cody Nelson, Clayton, Mich.; Brittany Osborne, Union City, Ind.; Donte Owens, Clinton Township, Mich.; Michael Parker, Indianapolis, Ind.; Haleigh Parrish, Kokomo, Ind.; Jaidyn Patridge, Toledo, Ohio;

Hayley Paulson, Medina, Ohio; Joshua Petro, Ocala, Fla., cum laude; William Ploughe, Canal Winchester, Ohio, cum laude; Eryn Porter, Defiance; Jonathan Ragland, Chicago, Ill.; Paige Rains, Liberty Center, Ohio; Nicholas Rath, Defiance; Kyle Recker, Antwerp, Ohio; Meredith Remy, Mansfield, Ohio; Jennifer Repka, Toledo, Ohio; Danielle Robbins, Westland, Mich.;

Amoy Russell, St. Mary, Jamaica, cum laude; Cassidy Santen, Woodridge, Ill.; Whitney Schalk, Bellevue, Ohio; Logan Scott, Curtice, Ohio; Alyson Seibert, Northwood, Ohio; Ashlyn Simion, Saline, Mich., cum laude; Lucas Singleton, Loveland, Colo.; Derek Smalley, Antwerp, Ohio, cum laude; Breanna Smith, Eastlake, Ohio; Sydni Smith, Jackson, Mich.; Adam Swisher, Lambertville, Mich., magna cum laude;

Aaron Textor, Surf City, N.C., summa cum laude; Andrew Thiel, Hicksville, Ohio; Rebecca Thompson, Convoy, Ohio; Sydney Unger, Frankfort, Ind.; Alysha Valdez, Defiance; Conner Varner, Stryker, Ohio, summa cum laude; Jacob Vicic, Minooka, Ill., cum laude; Kayleigh Vicknair, New Orleans, La., cum laude; Brooke Waidelich, Pettisville, Ohio, summa cum laude; Amanda Waldfogel, Defiance; Gregory Ward Jr., Ypsilanti, Mich.; Nicholas Watkins, Lima, Ohio; Hannah Williams, Swanton, Ohio; Kyle Williams, Van Wert, Ohio, summa cum laude; Mindy Yates, Oakwood, Ohio, summa cum laude;  and Deborah Young, St. Mary, Jamaica, cum laude.

Bachelor of Science in Nursing
Rose Hastedt, Hamler, Ohio; Nathan Hoffer, Hamler, Ohio; Ashton King, Quincy, Mich.; Casey McCormick, Lima, Ohio; and Nathan Renollet, Sherwood, Ohio.

Master of Arts in Education
Jill Altaffer, Montpelier, Ohio; Marcella Ciccotelli, Defiance; Sarah Rupp, Wauseon, Ohio; Jordan Valentine, Preston, England; and Amy VonDeylen, Defiance.

Master of Business Administration
Debbie Burkey, Napoleon, Ohio; Alexander Collier, Morristown, Ind.; Amy Daeger, Defiance; Carissa Dagostaro, Weston, Ohio; Dallas Franks, Thurman, Iowa; Robert Goshia II, Paulding, Ohio; Shelby Hutchins, Monroe, Mich.; Laura Katterheinrich, Defiance; Corina Kempe, Defiance; Lucas Parsell, Napoleon, Ohio; Alexandra Pichert, Columbus, Ohio; Ryan Schadewald, Lima, Ohio; Cheryl Scher, Hicksville, Ohio; and Gary Yeoman, Mishawaka, Ind.

Associate of Arts
Marissa Kosier, Ney, Ohio; Katelyn Ruiz, Defiance; Cassidy Santen, Woodridge, Ill.; and Mindy Yates, Oakwood, Ohio.

Defiance College, chartered in 1850, is an independent, liberal arts-based institution in Northwest Ohio offering more than 40 undergraduate programs of study as well as graduate programs in education and business. Defiance College has received national recognition for its educational experience of service and engagement. The college website is www.defiance.edu.