5/12/2021
On May 1, 2021, eight graduate degree students were honored during Ferrum College’s 105th commencement ceremony. These students are the first graduate degree recipients in the institution’s history.
“It was such a joy and honor to be able to call the names and watch our first graduate students be hooded on stage at this year’s commencement ceremony,” said Dean of the School of Online Graduate and Education Studies and Associate Professor of Political Science Sandra Via ’04. “I am so proud of these students for their hard work and dedication in these graduate programs and to Ferrum.”
The Master of Science in psychology and the Education Specialist Degree (EdS) in Teacher Leadership and Coaching programs are completely online and offer graduate students the chance to complete the curriculum in just one year. Each program prepares students for career advancement or to enter a doctoral program.
Leya Deickman, who received her undergraduate degree in psychology from Ferrum in 2019, is a proud member of the first graduate degree class. True to its promise, the program took Deickman a year to earn a Master of Science in psychology. Because of her organized and energetic nature, she was also able to work full-time at the College as an area coordinator for the Office of Student Life and Engagement, compete for the women’s wrestling team, and remain a dedicated mother to her young son Kendall.
“Being a full-time graduate student, staff member, student-athlete, and still managing my home life was extremely demanding,” said Deickman. “There were many days where Kendall would have to come to practice and there were days where I went to my office an hour early to just get some quiet time to do homework. But the beauty in online courses is that you can shape your schedule however you would like. Having the freedom to do that enabled me to be all those different things at once.”
Deickman enjoyed the curriculum of Ferrum’s graduate program. “I have been in other online programs before and they were very much regurgitation of information. While I still learned things, I was not as excited to learn. Ferrum’s program has been the opposite. I am always challenged and learning new things. The structure of each class is unique but is clearly laid out from the first day of class. I am learning about my own interest while being able to learn about psychology branches and research,” she said.
Ferrum College’s Senior Enrollment Officer Eric Grundman agrees with Deickman’s assessment. While working full-time for the College, Grundman enrolled last summer as a full-time graduate student, and also earned a Master of Science in psychology two weeks ago.
“Speaking from the perspective of the senior enrollment officer at Ferrum College, being a member of the first cohort and graduating class in Ferrum College history with an M.S. in psychology has been an incredibly positive experience,” said Grundman. “The past year has been truly enriching and fulfilling in every way. I’ve been able to gain knowledge as well as expand my professional network while working together with classmates who will be friends for a lifetime.
Grundman will always feel grateful for his graduate school experience at Ferrum. “The faculty and staff have worked with me and my fellow classmates to guide us through this intensive online program with a level of compassion and a personal touch that might not otherwise be offered at larger institutions,” he said. “One of the greatest honors of my life is that I am able to say I am now a proud Ferrum College alumnus.”
Learn more about Ferrum College’s online graduate degree programs here.
From November 2019: Ferrum College students and staff worked with Habitat for Humanity to renovate a local woman’s home. Pictured: staff member Leya Deickman ’19 (in purple), student Katrina Anderson (in grey), and Morgan Flinkstrom (in blue).
On October 17, 2020, homeowner Elaine Childress was welcomed into her newly renovated home in Rocky Mount, VA by board members from Habitat for Humanity Franklin County, which includes Ferrum College Dean of Students Nicole Lenez.
From November 2019, the Ferrum College women’s wrestling team (from top, L to R): Leya Deickman ’19; Morgan Flinkstrom; Andreia Langley; Katrina Anderson; homeowner Elaine Childress; Destiny Benjamin; Bailey Gilmore; Autumn Potkay ’20; coach Breonnah Neal; Caitlynn Richardson; Alisha Elizalde; & Gabriella Torres.
“It has been a privilege to serve with the members of the local Habitat for Humanity board as our community worked to give Elaine a gorgeous renovated home,” said Ferrum College Dean of Students Nicole Lenez. “Our students worked tirelessly for Elaine, truly living out our motto, ‘Not Self, But Others.'”
On every available Saturday over the last year, Ferrum College staff members and students, mainly the women’s wrestling team, worked with the local Habitat for Humanity chapter to ready Childress’s home after a renovation process that took two years in total. The house was gutted and then updated with siding, windows, decks, drywall, cabinets, and plumbing. Childress’s home also received a new electrical and ventilation system, and all new appliances.
“While volunteering for Habitat for Humanity, I understood that I was helping the community and Elaine,” said Ferrum College Residence Life Area Coordinator Leya Deickman ’19, who worked on Childress’s home as a College staff member (and is a former member of the Ferrum women’s wrestling team). “At that moment, the atmosphere felt cheerful and light, making our manual labor feel effortless. Although the laughs and memories were enough to instill this experience in my mind, the thank you note I received this past month reminded me of how impactful a simple volunteering experience could be for someone in need.”
Read more about this act of community service in this Franklin News-Post article.
Learn more about Ferrum College’s women’s wrestling team here.
Leya and her four-year-old son, nicknamed “Little Kendall.”
Leya Deickman does all the things.
A senior from Fayetteville, NC, set to graduate on May 11, 2019 with a bachelor’s degree in psychology, Leya has truly taken advantage of every available Ferrum College opportunity. She is a residence hall advisor and serves as president of the College’s campus chapter of Help Save the Next Girl, an organization dedicated to the safety of girls and women. She is an intercollegiate wrestler, serving as captain from fall 2016 to present, and has been named Academic All-Conference, Academic All-State, and Academic All-American. She is involved with the College’s orientation team and the Sister 4 Sister mentoring program for African-American students, and served as a Gatway mentor and a PAL tutor for two years. Leya is a Boone Honors Program mentor, a cohort representative to the Honors Advisory Council, and was nominated for the 2019 Honors Scholar of the Year through the Virginia Collegiate Honors Council. She has consistently maintained a 4.0 GPA.
As if those activities weren’t enough to keep her busy, she also stepped in to serve as an editor for Ferrum College’s magazine, Chrysalis Literary & Arts, which won her the Chrysalis Staff Member of the Year Award during the College’s recent Academic Awards Ceremony on April 12. Leya was named to the National Society of Leadership and Success, Psi Chi, and Sigma Tau Delta. She received the Unsung Hero Award during her second year at Ferrum College, which is given to a person who works tirelessly but unselfishly, without the motive of drawing attention to oneself. Without question, Leya exhibits the College’s motto: Not Self, But Others.
Leya’s long-term goal is to be an educational psychologist, but she is currently considering additional higher education. “I want to be involved in the lives of young adults,” Leya explained. “This is a delicate time where we are in between teenagers and adulthood and people expect young adults to have everything figured out. I really want to be able to model that anyone can achieve their goals despite adversities. I want to guide them through this journey and provide them with the resources necessary to make their goals come true.”
“Leya’s academic success at Ferrum and the impression she has left upon the faculty are uniformly outstanding,” remarked Professor of English and Director of the Boone Honors Program Lana Whited, who nominated Leya for the 2019 VCHC award. “It is no exaggeration to say that her faculty cannot figure out when Leya Deickman sleeps, or how she maintains her characteristic cheery, upbeat disposition. She is a remarkable young woman.”
She “has a level of maturity and ability to manage any number of activities that I’ve seen in very few students – maybe only three or four – in 35 years of teaching,” explained Katherine Grimes, associate professor of English, who taught Leya three English courses and an honors seminar.
But her most important accomplishment makes all the rest pale in comparison. Despite her rigorous schedule, Leya is the dedicated mother to little Kendall, a happy, remarkably adorable four-year-old boy. She and Kendall’s father, nicknamed Big Kendall, are both students at Ferrum College and are steadfast in their commitment to family and education. Despite their youth, they show up for each other in big ways: Big Kendall held off on his education for a year to watch Little Kendall while Leya began her studies at Ferrum, and Leya has been diligent in her goal to graduate. She will complete her undergraduate work in only three years, as opposed to the traditional four. Big Kendall is on track to graduate in 2021 with a degree in health and human performance and coaching.
Big Kendall attributes the family’s success to their commitment to each other: “All three of us feed off of each other. Believe it or not, our four-year-old will try to motivate us in the best way he can! We are a team,” and to their network of Ferrum College friends: “People offer to watch Little Kendall while we write a paper or do a project. The College is great, but the people make it even greater.”
Leya agrees and is adamant Ferrum College gave her the tools to be successful. “When I found Ferrum, I instantly found a second home. From day one, I felt like I belonged here,” Leya explained. “Through thought provoking conversations, individualized classroom settings, and countless hours of community service, Ferrum has prepared me to help others. If I can give people half of what Ferrum has given to me, I know I can help make the world a better place. I am not only excited, but honored to be an alumna of such an inspirational institution.”
