George Williams College - Embers Yearbook (Chicago, IL)

Page 63 text:

Top : President John R. McCurdy addressing the 1956 Com¬ mencement Exercises. Bottom: Karl P. Zerfoss in his role of Director of Graduate Placement helps students to find jobs after they leave the College. Dr. Zerfoss is also Professor of Psychology and Director of the Division of Group Work and Recreation. a . .Only a beginning Graduation brings with it the need to plan what one is going to do in the years to come. The George Williams student is unique in the great number of job offers pre¬ sented him by agencies critically short of trained personnel. The college maintains a Graduate Placement Office with Dr. Karl Zerfoss as its director to assist students in the placement procedure. As early as Autumn quarter the seniors begin the placement process. An unofficial census of those students who graduated in December, 1956, and those planning to graduate in June of 1957 reveals that forty-five of the sixty-seven students are looking toward the YMCA. Fifteen are plan¬ ning on teaching health and physical education in the schools, four are planning on the ministry, and three have indicated an interest in other leisure time agencies. At least 203 members of the student body have indi¬ cated an interest to enter the YMCA profession. George Williams, sometimes called the “West Point of the YMCA” has as its basic goal to “provide professional education for Christian leadership, primarily for Young Men’s Christian Association.” It is with this evidence of the interest and dedication to informal education of the students of George Williams College that we end this review of the college and its “Accent on Informality.” 1957 A committee of the Board of Trustees is at work on developing a Five-Year Plan for the Col¬ lege. This proposes an increase in enrollment to 500 students by 1960 and the possibility of a new building. 59

Page 62 text:

Commencement. . . The days have now faded into weeks, the weeks to months, the months to quarters, and the quarters to years, and the years have passed by and Commencement is here. There’s a rustling of robes and the gentle splashing of the tassel on your face and the rhythmic beating of footsteps across the quadrangle and up the stairs to the large gym. The observers perhaps unconsciously wonders if these dig¬ nified people can really be the informal, carefree students that they know so well. A kind of tinkling sensation runs down your spine as you march down the aisle where you once played volley¬ ball and tennis and watched the basketball games. There’s an almost endless waiting through greetings and con¬ gratulatory remarks and the Commencement address . . . and finally the conferring of degrees. You stand, your wees are neak, your stomach does a full flip and a half gainer as Dr. Steinhaus calls your name. You walk across the platform smiling, your tassel brushing softly against your cheek and you receive your diploma and a personal congratulation from Dr. McCurdy. It’s hard to realize that it’s now really finished—that your George Williams College days are over but you real¬ ize as never before that Commencement is only a beginning. 1946 1949 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 Active Registrations Autumn Quarter Census . 365 .400 .255 .223 .214 .250 .303 . 319 58 17

Page 64 text:

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