Campus News

Bob Herdegen ’74 retired after 41 years as a psychology professor at Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia. His post-retirement plans call for lots of traveling and spending time with family once it is safe.

Fred Fuld III ’74 entered his book “Beach Detective: Exploding Surfboard” in the 8th annual Writer’s Digest contest and received high marks in all categories.

Susan Schmitz raised two sons and saw them graduate from college. Then it was her turn.

At age 69, Susan Schmitz graduated from Rockford University in 2020 with a bachelor’s degree in management studies. Unlike many adults who return to complete a degree, Susan didn’t do it for career advancement. In fact, she retired six months before graduating. Instead, Susan got a degree for the best reason of all: herself.

“I wanted to see it through,” she said. “As my sons earned their degrees, I wanted my opportunity.”

Susan grew up in England, at a time when college wasn’t a popular option for many women. She focused instead on raising her family and didn’t consider college until she was introduced to some flower arranging classes at the College of DuPage. She took enough courses for a certificate program, then continued to complete an associate degree in ornamental horticulture.

Susan moved to Rockford after remarrying and, as a newcomer, was looking for an opportunity to meet people. She learned about the flexible class schedules and variety of student backgrounds at Rockford University, then quickly decided it was a good fit for her.

For the next five years, Susan took classes at Rockford University while working a full-time job in human resources for a group of greenhouses and also supervising the care of her mother back in England. She credits the school’s flexibility with allowing her to pursue all of those endeavors at once.

“If I had to fly to England, I could time it between class offerings and not have to take off an entire year,” she said.

For Susan, learning about management while simultaneously living it through her job was fascinating.

“It was very interesting to me to learn more about my field,” she said. “It definitely opens your eyes to different viewpoints.”

Now with a bachelor’s degree behind her, Susan has found a passion for learning she didn’t know she had. She is taking time now to relax and enjoy working in her garden but entertains the idea of completing a master’s degree in her 70s.

“The world is open to me at the moment,” Susan said. “I’m just keeping my options open and seeing what comes my way.”

This article was originally published in Rockford University’s alumni magazine, Catalyst.

For Eric Hougan ’01 and Lesley Irizarry-Hougan ’00, Rockford University was the perfect launching pad for more than just their careers: it prepared them for a life together.

The alumni were acquaintances even before they arrived at Rockford University. But it was at the university that the pair became good friends.

“We are both really competitive,” said Eric. “We ended up in class together and would compete for the best scores. We struck up a friendship and really connected.”

Over the years, that friendship grew and the Hougans were married in 2003 at the university’s Fisher Memorial Chapel. Today, they are parents to three children and live in Seattle.

While both Eric and Lesley graduated with business degrees, their careers took very different paths. Eric pursued both master’s and doctorate degrees in education, and today works as an education professor at Central Washington University. Lesley attended Northern Illinois University Law School and now runs her own immigration law firm.

Both of the Hougans point back to their education at Rockford University as critical to their professions now.

“As a business owner, I use my business skills quite a bit – especially marketing,” said Lesley. “There are a lot of takeaways from a business education.”

The couple credits the school’s international focus for opening their eyes to experiences around the world. Lesley enjoyed “meeting international students and learning about different countries, different cultures, and different languages,” she said. “It was really neat.”

For Eric, that point was driven home through his study abroad experience through the school, when he spent time at Regent’s University in London.

“Growing up as a hometown boy, that was a really good way to be exposed to other cultures,” Eric said. “We appreciated being exposed to things we wouldn’t have otherwise. Rockford University pushed us out of our comfort zone, and taking risks is something that has stayed with me.”

This article was originally published in Rockford University’s alumni magazine, Catalyst.