Graduate, undergraduate commencement speakers announced

The graduate commencement ceremony will be in Memorial Hall at 8 a.m. with Dr. Yvonne Moody, CSC alumna and professor of Applied Sciences at Chadron State College, as the speaker.

The undergraduate commencement ceremony will be in the Chicoine Center at 10 a.m. with Dr. Megan Schuckman as the speaker. She is a CSC alumna and family medicine physician at the Chadron Medical Clinic.

Tickets are not required for friends and family members of graduates who would like to attend. Both ceremonies will be available on CSC Live.

Graduate Commencement Speaker

Dr. Yvonne Moody

Moody, a native of Crofton, Nebraska, came to CSC as an undergraduate in 1971, majoring in Home Economics and stayed to create a second home and family on the CSC campus.

She said she felt a desire to teach starting with her first day of elementary school.

Her older sister was her first teacher, sharing what she learned in school two years before Moody had the chance to see for herself. That set her career pathway in motion. She enjoyed learning in a progressive, multi-age environment in a one-room rural school with several veteran educators and one creative and inspirational rookie seventh grade teacher, Paul Steffen, who capitalized on Moody’s interest in others’ learning.

Moody knew she wanted to teach but wasn’t sure what discipline until she enrolled in an elective course in home economics. In that course, she said she discovered the one field that encompassed all of the important concepts in life that interested her.

As an undergraduate at CSC, Moody became involved with state and national affiliates of the American Home Economics Association and has remained active in them since graduation. She said she relishes the continued journey of learning in a discipline that evolves rapidly, based on the increasing practical and perennial needs of society.

Her teaching career began at Lexington (Nebraska) Junior High School and continued with the pursuit of a graduate degree in education. She took courses from the University of Nebraska in Lincoln and Kearney State College before she returned to CSC for a graduate assistantship. She earned her master’s degree in education in 1978 and spent the following year teaching in Hill City, South Dakota.

When the home economics program at CSC had an opening, she was asked to apply and accepted the position she was offered. She has remained an active member of the department. Eventually, she earned her doctorate from the University of Nebraska in Lincoln.

Receiving the Leader Award from the Nebraska Association of Family and Consumer Sciences in 2007 was a highlight of her career, she said. She credits her professional network, as well as the CSC campus community with a number of special opportunities. One of those special opportunities was serving as an intern with the Nebraska State College System Board of Trustees in 1975 when former Chadron State College President Dr. Edwin Nelson was interim board chairman.

She also recognizes her late husband, Kent, and their two children for teaching her that textbook theories can all be revised based upon new challenges that life, farming and grandchildren offer.

Undergraduate Commencement Speaker

Dr. Megan Schuckman

Schuckman has been a board certified family medicine physician with the Chadron Medical Clinic since September 2015. A Chadron High School graduate, she earned her bachelor’s degree in human biology from Chadron State College in 2008, graduating cum laude.

Schuckman earned her medical degree from the University of Nebraska College of Medicine in May 2012 and completed her three-year residency in Rapid City, South Dakota, before moving back to her hometown.

While enrolled at CSC from May 2005 until July 2008, Schuckman was employed as a medical assistant, receptionist and medical records clerk at the Chadron Medical Clinic. In 2007, Schuckman worked as a CSC anatomy mentor and was on the coaching staff for freshmen and junior varsity volleyball for Chadron Public Schools. She said she still enjoys playing volleyball in her free time.

She recalls her time at Chadron State College fondly, noting she met husband on campus along with other amazing people and close friends. She matured and learned important lessons, both inside and outside of the classroom, she said.

Her volunteer service while she was enrolled at UNMC included serving at the UNMC SHARING and RESPECT clinics designed to provide high-quality, low-cost healthcare and human services in a multidisciplinary educational setting, while instilling the values of service and compassion into UNMC students.

During her residency in Rapid City, Schuckman returned to campus to speak at the April 2014 banquet to honor RHOP students advancing to professional schools. She urged the students to pursue marriage and starting families in spite of the demands of medical school. She encouraged them to seek balanced lives complete with hobbies. Her hobbies include home renovations, travel, reading and time with family.

She is certified in basic life support, advanced cardiac life support, advanced life support in obstetrics neonatal resuscitation and pediatric advanced life support. She is affiliated with the following professional organizations: American Academy of Family Physicians, South Dakota Academy of Family Physicians, Black Hills District Medical Society and the South Dakota State Medical Association.

Her father, Ed Pelton, is a 1987 CSC alumnus and her mother, Stephani, also has a career in healthcare. She has three siblings, Mark, Matthew and Madeline. Schuckman’s husband, Ben, originally from Broken Bow, Nebraska, graduated from CSC in 2007 with a degree in business administration. They have two children.