ISU senior will graduate after taking one class per semester for 19 years

http://www.news.iastate.edu/news/2011/apr/GradVitzhum


04-25-11  
       
    Kathy Vitzthum and the curio cabinet, a constant reminder of    her promise to her father. Photo by Bob Elbert.  
Contacts:  
    Kathy Vitzthum, graduating senior in accounting, 515-228-3872,    ktv@iastate.edu   
    Teddi Barron, News Service, 515-294-4778, tbarron@iastate.edu


Iowa State University senior will graduate after taking one class per semester for 19 years  
    AMES, Iowa -- In 1992, a gallon of gas cost $1.13, Bill Clinton    won the presidential election and Kathy Vitzthum took her first    class at Iowa State University.   
    Vitzthum has taken about one class each and every semester    since. For 40 semesters. Since Miley Cyrus was born. Since    Charles and Diana split up. Since Ross Perot pulled out his    charts and pointer on TV. Since the World Wide Web was in its    infancy (and text only).

  
    On May    7, the 48-year-old Vitzthum, who lives in Slater, graduates    summa cum laude from Iowa State. She has achieved her goal -- a    bachelor's degree in accounting -- after juggling family    and career with finals and papers for 19 years.

  
    Her two kids progressed from tee ball to soccer to band to    degrees of their own. Her husband washed more loads of laundry    and cooked more evening meals than bargained for. Her friends    babysat. Her parents cheered her on.

  
    "I've been doing this so long, I don't think    I'll know how not to do it. It almost gives me anxiety to    not know what I'm doing this summer," Vitzthum said.    "But it's a definite sense of accomplishment."


      Good career move   
    Vitzthum did not set out in pursuit of a degree. Andrew    Burkland, her boss at Electronic Technology Corp. in Huxley,    offered to promote Vitzthum if she would take some accounting    courses. And the Iowa State engineering graduate wanted her to    enroll at his alma mater.   
    Vitzthum resisted ("I can't do that! My kids are only    six and eight years old."). And Burkland countered with an    offer to reimburse tuition, help with the application and    accompany her to campus to register.

  
    So Vitzthum tackled accounting, often not cracking the books    until her family was asleep and "everything was settled    down at 9 or 10 or 11 p.m." She plowed through the    required courses, from Financial Accounting and Managerial    Accounting to Principles of Federal Income Tax and Auditing,    with a detour to catch up on math. It took seven years.


      The power of a promise   
    About that time, Vitzthum's father became ill with cancer.   
    "He said to me, 'You know Kathy, you're this far,    why don't you just keep going and get your    degree?'" Vitzthum recalled.   
    She lamented to him that she could be 50 years old when she    finishes. Her dad said, "You're going to be 50 anyway,    so you might as well keep going."   
    "I didn't really want to continue. But before he    passed away, he made me promise to finish," she said.   
    That was the turning point. And also where the curio cabinet    comes in.         Vitzthum's    parents.  
  

Vitzthum is one of eight siblings in the Doughan family of    Algona. Their parents, Dale and Marcie, had a tradition of    giving their child a major gift -- something they really wanted    -- upon graduation from college. Vitzthum had had her eye on an    antique, lighted curio cabinet for some time.   
    "I thought it was gorgeous. But I knew we couldn't    afford it, with little kids and my going to college," she    said.   
    So Vitzthum's parents bought the cabinet. When they    presented it, her father said, "I'm not going to be    around when you graduate, so I'll give this to you on loan    now."

  
    For 11 years, Vitzthum's curio cabinet has loomed large in    the living room, a memorial to the promise she made to her    father.   
    "After that, it wasn't an option to quit school,"    she said. "Every time I looked at the cabinet, I was    reminded."


      Change is the constant        Eventually, her classes moved from Carver Hall to the new    Gerdin Business Building, and more and more were offered    online. About 10 years ago, Vitzthum became acutely aware that    not only was she older than her classmates, she was older than    many of her instructors.  
  
  
      Yet she continued to lug her textbooks along on family    vacations. And her husband Keith continued to keep the    household running smoothly while advancing his own career (he    is the City of Huxley water superintendent). Daughter Kristina,    28, began her freshman year at Iowa State (she graduated in    2005 and works at The Principal Financial Group in Des Moines).    Son Kyle, 25, graduates Friday with his nursing degree from Des    Moines Area Community College ("We're very proud of    both of them.") Her 74-year-old mother continues to    inspire, a mother of eight (all of whom were under the age of    10 when she was 28) who still runs the business she shared with    her late husband, now assisted by a Blackberry, Skype and    Excel.

      "Dad put the spur in me to finish and she kept me    going--she's a huge inspiration," Vitzthum said.    "She's probably who I get my stamina from -- my    stick-to-itiveness."  

      The family will gather on Friday for a dual celebration:    Kyle's commencement from DMACC and Vitzthum's turn as    marshal, leading the way for the ISU    College of Business ceremony (5 p.m. at Hilton Coliseum).


               Persistence does pay off    
    Even as she credits family, friends, and ISU advisers and    instructors for nearly two decades of support, Vitzthum    acknowledges she has "a lot of energy somewhere," is    too "hyper" to do nothing and is "a freak about    time management."

  
    Yes, she got the promotion. Vitzthum is senior accountant for    Micrel Incorporated, the new name of the company she's been    with since 1988.
  
    And her other prize? She will own the curio cabinet that's    been on loan, well, since gas was $1.46 per gallon and George    W. Bush was first elected president.

lz实在isu读书吗？请问聊不了解ms的大概背景呀
thanks