Category: Education

District attorney to deliver Grantham University commencement speech

District Attorney Mark A. Dupree Sr. will deliver the keynote speech at the Grantham University commencement ceremony at 2 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 3, at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, 1601 Broadway Blvd., Kansas City, Missouri.

Hundreds of students are expected to gather for the first time to celebrate their degrees from the online university.

“We are pleased to have such a distinguished member of our community to deliver our keynote,” said Anthony R. Petroy, D.M., Grantham University provost and interim president, in a news release. “His service to the citizens of Wyandotte County and involvement in the community, both as district attorney and as a senior pastor, has proven Mark to be an effective and charismatic leader with valuable advice to impart to our graduates.”

Grantham University has 1,709 graduates in the 2019 class, with graduates from all 50 states and from Canada, Germany, India, Italy and Singapore.

The youngest graduate is 19 and the oldest is 80, according to a spokesman. Sixty-one percent of the graduates are in the military, and 78 percent are the first generation in their family to complete college. Fifty-five percent of the graduates are minority.

“I am truly honored to be asked to deliver the commencement address at Grantham University’s graduation ceremony,” Dupree said in a news release. “I wholeheartedly believe in the university’s mission of making education both accessible and affordable. The university places the rewards of education in the hands of those willing to work hard to attain knowledge that can never be taken away, thereby opening up a world of possibilities. Grantham has never wavered in this commitment to students and the graduation ceremony will be a testament to that charge.”

McDonald’s donates 3,000 backpacks to Back-to-School Fair Aug. 3

McDonald’s restaurants are donating 3,000 backpacks to the Back-to-School Fair to be held Saturday, Aug. 3, at Kansas City Kansas Community College, 7250 State Ave.

The 20th annual Wyandotte County Back-to-School Fair will be held from 8 a.m. to noon on Saturday, Aug. 3, at KCKCC’s main campus. Students who live in Wyandotte County and attend public or private schools may receive items such as backpacks and supplies for free at this event. There also will be immunizations, physical exams, eye exams, haircuts and the opportunity to get information from a variety of community organizations. The Kansas City, Kansas, Public Library will distribute books to children. Parents should bring proof of residence in Wyandotte County, such as a driver’s license or a utility bill, and children must be accompanied by their parents.

Cassandra Savage, owner-operator of the McDonald’s restaurants at 7530 State Ave. and at 4101 Kansas Ave. in Kansas City, Kansas, said this tradition of donating backpacks started last year. The Back-to-School Fair went without a backpack donor for some years previously before McDonald’s Great Plains Co-op stepped forward.

“We donated over 9,000 backpacks to Kansas City, Kansas, and Kansas City, Missouri, school districts this year, in total,” Savage said.

“As an owner-operator, we’ve always felt a sense of responsibility to our community,” Savage said. “McDonald’s has been one of those franchises that has always been involved.”

The restaurant also sponsors “Coffee With a Cop” and “Teacher Nights,” as well as other community events, she said.

“Every single one of our owner-operators, all franchisees, are dedicated to supporting the communities,” she said.

Savage said she recently went school supply shopping with her grandson and noticed how many items were on the list and their cost.

“The parents are very appreciative of the backpacks,” she said.

McDonald’s employs students from local high schools and from KCKCC, and works closely with high school counselors, she added.

For more information about the Back-to-School Fair, individuals may visit www.facebook.com/WyandotteCountyBackToSchoolFair.

Three KCK students graduate from Fort Hays State

Three students from Kansas City, Kansas, have received degrees at Fort Hays State University, Hays, Kansas, in the spring semester.

The university conferred 456 graduate degrees, 1,799 bachelor’s degrees and 59 associate degrees this spring.

Graduates from Kansas City, Kansas, include:

• Diane Michelle Hernandez-Ramirez, a Bachelor of Science in organizational leadership and sociology.

• Carreen L. Blankenship, an Education Specialist in school psychology.

• Melanie Gabriela Arellano-Luna, a Bachelor of Social Work.