Nevada Daily Mail (II)

Cottey students graduate

http://www.nevadadailymail.com/story/1211813.html

Tuesday, May 15, 2007

Students stepped across the stage into their respective futures at Cottey College commencement exercises held on Sunday. Above, Hristina Denic, Nis, Serbia, receives her diploma Sunday morning from Cottey College President Dr. Judy Rogers. At left, His Serene Highness Prince Radu of Hohenzollern-Veringen of Romania presents the commencement address to Cottey College’s 2007 graduates. Prince Radu is a special representative of the Romanian government, visiting the United States to encourage, promote and support partnerships in economics. Also joining in the celebration of commencement was Madame Huguette Peirs, superintendent of the Legion of Honor School, a high school for girls in St. Denis, France, established by Napoleon in 1805. Graduates of this school have attended Cottey College annually since 1977. This is the first visit to Cottey by a superintendent of the school.

Ralph Pokorny/Daily Mail

http://www.nevadadailymail.com/story/1211815.html

Tuesday, May 15, 2007

It’s the stuff a girl’s dreams are made of. As a reception line that stretched for half a block slowly progressed, 9-year-old Jillian Corn, of Murrieta, Calif., shyly took the hand of His Serene Highness Prince Radu of Hohenzollern-Veringen, of Romania, who greeted her with enthusiasm, during a reception on Saturday, at the President’s House at Cottey College. The two exchanged greetings and smiles, and it was a fleeting moment, but one the little girl is sure to remember for years to come. So transpired one young lady’s peek into the wide, international world and the vast opportunities the future could hold, at home, abroad, or perhaps as a student at Cottey College, one day.

Corn, along with several of her relatives, was in town for the graduation of her eldest sister, Emily Corn, and was clearly pleased to have had the opportunity to meet a “real prince” during her trip.

Her mother, Marty Corn, said it was an exciting event. Corn has four daughters, and she brought them along to see Cottey College on the chance they might wish to follow in their sister’s footsteps and become Cottey students in the future. “I’ve got my oldest at Cottey. We’ll see about the next three.”

Coming to Cottey was a big cultural change for Emily, Marty said, but she’s made the adjustment well, Marty said, joking that “she likes cowboys, now.”

The reception was an international affair, in more ways than one. Guests from Romania and France took center stage during a reception at the Cottey College President’s House on Saturday, their very presence calling attention to the eclectic mix of students from many countries brought together at Cottey College and the partnership of community and college in Nevada. Many international students attended the reception, which was part of graduation weekend festivities at the college. The reception also was attended by many local residents and, of course, Cottey students from all over the United States in a community-wide celebration of special guests Prince Radu and Madame Huguette Peirs, Superintendent of the Legion of Honor School, a prestigious girls’ school in St. Denis, France.

Each guest filed through a receiving line, shaking hands with Cottey College President Dr. Judy Rogers, who introduced Prince Radu and Peirs, along with her husband and other dignitaries representing the PEO Sisterhood.

Prince Radu spoke briefly with many attendees, and in a brief, quiet moment, thanked Rogers for the opportunity and for a pleasant, peaceful weekend in the community. The prince and his entourage had been in the United States for just 36 hours as the reception began. His visit to Cottey College is part of a tour of the United States focusing on economic development, culture and education and came about through a collaboration with Sam Foursha, who is the former economic development director for the city of Nevada and honorary consul of Romania to the state of Missouri.

The occasion also marked the first visit to Cottey by a superintendent of the French school.