Southeast grads' day celebrated here and abroad

Forty-five minutes before Southeast Missouri State University's 2004 spring graduation ceremony, Salvador Tomas is nervously pacing the floor of the Student Recreation Center at the Show Me Center. The middle-aged Mexican immigrant sends his black tassel whirling as he turns to hug and greet classmates and faculty as they pass.

Meanwhile, downstairs at the southwest corner of the main Show Me Center floor, 22-year-old Jeremy Krueger of St. Charles, Mo., stands beside his mother and father, trying to balance his mortar board on his head while talking to his brother, who's ready to watch him walk across the stage from 7,000 miles away.

They are two of a school record 1,119 Southeast students who graduated Saturday afternoon. Both were in attendance as U.S. Sen. Jim Talent spoke to the class about success, character and the significance of their achievement.

For Tomas and Krueger, the day held separate, but equally special significance.

Tomas' bachelor's degree in general studies is a milestone in a long journey that began in 1974, when as an teenager he came to the United States from Cheran Michoacan, Mexico. Since then he has worked as an agricultural laborer, a maintenance man and an assembly line worker.

Growing tired of working those jobs, and realizing that the happiness he sought was only attainable through education, he worked, saved money and in 2000, with aid from the university's Project BASE program -- which is designed to recruit, train and place qualified bilingual teachers in elementary and high schools -- Tomas enrolled at Southeast. Though his parents are deceased and his brother couldn't make it down from St. Louis, Tomas shared his accomplishment with friends and teachers who helped him get there. He will now go back to school to get his teaching certificate.

Older brother watching

For Krueger the day was all about family. Not only were parents Jerry and Linda Krueger in town to see him get his degree in marketing, but his older brother, Tim Krueger, had a special seat to see his sibling graduate.

Tim Krueger is in the National Guard and is currently stationed in Iraq. As a special service to the Kruegers, the university communications team that was videotaping the commencement for distribution set up an integrated services digital network connection feed directly to the Missouri National Guard office in Jefferson City, Mo. From there it was patched to a base in Iraq, where Tim Krueger communicated with his family and watched the ceremony via video cameras and television monitors.

"I was upset that he wasn't going to be able to be here," said Jeremy Krueger, who hasn't seen his brother since Christmas. "This is just awesome."

trehagen@semissourian.com

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