Two valedictorians will leave a unique legacy at the College when they address the Saint Mary's Class of 2012 at Saturday's Commencement ceremony.
Seniors Annie Bulger and Krystal Holtcamp were named co-valedictorians for the Class of 2012. Both students earned perfect 4.0 grade point averages during their time at the College.
Bulger, a mathematics major from Minneapolis, Minn., who graduated in December 2011, said she is grateful for the opportunity to represent Saint Mary's and the rest of her department.
"This is such an honor to be co-valedictorian with Krystal," Bulger said. "I am really glad to be able to represent the math department at Saint Mary's. I love my fellow math majors and all of the professors in our department."
Holtcamp, a biology major with a concentration in molecular and cellular biology from Mentor, Ohio, said she was "completely surprised" when she heard the news.
"The day I found out I was going to be co-valedictorian with Annie was a very interesting one," Holtcamp said. "I had just completed my senior comprehensive and had learned that I had been accepted to Butler University's physician assistant program. Hearing about being co-valedictorian was just fantastic."
Since Bulger completed her time at Saint Mary's in December, she has worked a full-time job at One:Ten Communications in South Bend, where she builds websites for the company.
"During the summer following my sophomore year, I was granted a Summer Experiential Learning Grant with One:Ten Communications through the Career Crossings Office," Bulger said. "I greatly enjoyed the chance to learn more about computer programming and technology from my fellow employees at One:Ten, and I was fortunate to be able to continue working after I graduated as a full-time employee."
Holtcamp will begin the University of Toledo's physician assistant program after graduation.
"It is a 28-month program where I will receive my Master's degree," Holtcamp said. "After that, I hope to be able to head closer to home in Cleveland and work at the Cleveland Clinic. I am really open to anything though."
Both Bulger and Holtcamp said they are excited and ready to head off into the next chapters of their lives, but will miss the experiences they have had at Saint Mary's.
"I chose to come to Saint Mary's in large part because of what I saw in the professors," Bulger said. "I saw that they were at Saint Mary's because they were passionate about their students and passionate about doing all that they could to enable their students to learn."
Holtcamp said she could not choose just one part of her time at the College she would miss the most.
"In my time here, I have been blessed with so many experiences that I will remember for the rest of my life," Holtcamp said. "Each of these experiences comes from different parts of my Saint Mary's education, including the encouraging professors that have helped me academically, the ministries that have expanded my faith, the powerful, influential body that Saint Mary's women represent and the friends and family that have been with me through everything."
Above all, Bulger said she hopes her classmates remember to take the time to talk with people and to appreciate the daily interactions they have with others.
"While doing missionary work between my sophomore and junior year of college, I spent a great deal of time just talking to the people in the neighborhood and hearing about what they had to say," Bulger said. "It really taught me that I do not want to miss out on the depth people have and the interactions I come across."
Holtcamp said her speech will focus on relishing the day her fellow graduates will share as classmates during commencement Saturday.
"Getting rid of the worries we have for the future and the regrets we have from our past is what counts," Holtcamp said. "Looking at the moment we are in now as graduates of Saint Mary's College is an amazing accomplishment in itself."
