McNeese State University is one of the first universities in a national pilot program to award associate degrees to students who stopped attending classes for personal reasons but otherwise met university criteria for an associate degree under Project Win-Win, an initiative sponsored by the Education Trust, a national education policy organization, and the National Association of System Heads.
Project Win-Win, which was launched last fall, includes seven community colleges from Louisiana, Maryland, New York and Ohio and three four-year universities in the University of Louisiana System (McNeese, Northwestern State University and Southeastern Louisiana University) that award associate degrees.
The aim of the project is to produce more students with degrees and the focus is on those students who have accumulated significant college credit yet do not have a degree but may be eligible for an associate degree, according to Stephanie Tarver, dean of enrollment management at McNeese.
McNeese student data was searched to identify students who had entered the university in August 2003 or later, had accumulated at least 60 semester hours and had not received a degree. Transcripts were then evaluated to identify students who were eligible for the Associate of General Studies degree and 17 McNeese students were notified in April that they met the criteria for their degrees under Project Win-Win. Six of those students attended spring commencement exercises Saturday morning in Burton Coliseum to receive their college diplomas.
One of those graduates is Amber Koonce of Sulphur. When Amber received the phone call informing her that she was eligible to receive her associate degree at Saturday's commencement, she cried and then said, "Wow! My parents are not going to believe this!”
Koonce, 25, has Lou Gehrig's disease, or Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, and she had given up on her dream of becoming a teacher several years ago.
"My parents had always stressed the importance of a college education and I had wanted to be the first one to give them that gift,” said Amber. "I had all but given up on that dream until we got the phone call from McNeese.”
Amber enrolled at McNeese in August 2003. Her major was education with a minor in Spanish. She dreamed of becoming a teacher, more specifically, a Spanish immersion teacher. She attended McNeese for two years and then transferred to Louisiana State University. When she started to struggle
with health issues, she transferred back to McNeese in fall 2007 where she completed her fall and spring 2008 semesters.
Her mother, Carol, said Amber had to withdraw from school after the spring because of the progression of her illness—she could no longer write, hold a book open or climb stairs. "She would fatigue so easily,” said Carol. The family had received a definite diagnosis of ALS on March 19, 2008.
Amber said she just knew that this had to be God's artistry at work. "When does a university EVER call a former student and say, ‘Hey, even though you didn't meet the requirements to graduate with a bachelor's degree, we know you worked really hard and, through this Project Win-Win, you are eligible to graduate with an associate degree, so we'd like to invite you to your graduation?”
Carol also cried when she heard the news. "Then I said, ‘What a blessing!' One of Amber's dreams was coming true. In spite of having to give up her dream of becoming a teacher, her dream of graduating from college was becoming a reality.”
Her family was thrilled about graduation and arrived "en masse” to show their love and pride for Amber—her mom and dad, Murrell, her brother, Chase, and sister, Tiffanie Parker, with niece and nephew, Hallie and Hunter, grandmother, Lillian Gautreaux, her aunt Pam Landry, cousin Jennifer Ardoin, and her son, Owen, and fiancée Eddie Myers. There were tears and smiles from everybody and lots of photographs.
Amber's faculty adviser and one of her instructors at McNeese, Rose Henny, pushed her former student's wheelchair to the front of Burton Coliseum to watch as her former student received her diploma.
"At McNeese, Rose Henny was Amber's guardian angel,” said Carol. "She took care of our daughter as though she was one of her own. Mrs. Henny walked with Amber to her car and carried her books and so much more—she went beyond the call of duty.
"When Mrs. Henny found out Amber was going to graduate, she called me and asked me if I would allow her the privilege of pushing Amber's chair for her during the ceremony,” she added.
Henny said Amber's excitement was contagious at graduation. "She said that this filled her with joy. Despite her diagnosis, she is accomplishing her goal. Her courage and strength are an example to us all.”
Amber said she is so happy that all of "my hard work was not in vain – God is good.”
"I am a college graduate – Amber Koonce – McNeese Class of 2010.”
McNeese State University President Robert Hebert, left, congratulates Koonce, seated, before the ceremony as Rose Henny, instructor in teacher education at McNeese and former faculty adviser to Koonce, looks on. Koonce, who has Lou Gehrig's disease, or ALS, had to withdraw from the university two years ago because of the progression of her illness. McNeese Photo
