Command Sgt. Maj. Kristopher Cook congratulates Sgt. Kadejra Irizarry, of Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion, 10th Mountain Division (LI), who earned a bachelor's degree in service management from Ashford University, as Penny Plante, an Army Edu...
FORT DRUM, N.Y. (June 18, 2015) -- The Fort Drum Army Education Center and participating colleges and universities honored 253 students who earned their degrees this year during a graduation recognition ceremony Friday at the Multipurpose Auditorium.
The students were made up of Solders, Families and Civilians who attended Jefferson Community College, State University of New York Empire State College, SUNY Oswego, SUNY Potsdam, University of Maryland University College, Columbia College and a number of colleges from all over the country.
Joseph A. Agresti, Fort Drum education services officer, opened the ceremony by encouraging graduates to go forth and help those around them with what they have learned and their experiences. Retired Command Sgt. Maj. James W. Redmore, who retired from the 10th Mountain Division (LI), gave the commencement address.
Three students who earned a degree this year each received an opportunity to address the audience with their personal story. Sgt. 1st Class Christopher Mayers, a military policeman with the 511th Military Police Company, earned a master's degree in education organization performance and technology / organizational leadership with distinction from SUNY Potsdam.
Patricia Webb, a Family Member and a 1st Brigade Combat Team family readiness group leader, and Matthew Blount, who is a management and program analyst in the Plans, Analysis and Integration Office at Fort Drum, shared their educational experiences.
Mayers spoke about dispelling the perception of those who may think there isn't a right time for furthering one's educational goals, and he cautioned graduates not to solely count on their military experience alone.
"In every task, we hear a voice (that) tells us, 'this isn't the right time to start something new,'" he said.
For Mayers, it was the excuse of a deployment that kept him from achieving his goals, but then he questioned what makes a poor leader poor and a great leader great. That's when he decided that it was the right time for him. He completed his undergraduate degree from Troy State University while in Dubai and completed most of his assignments at a coffee shop on base.
With 20 years of service in the Army and with his recent degree, he landed the job as a probation officer in a newly formed court.
"Twenty years in the Army coupled with this degree secured that job in a field which I love," he said.
Among the many Soldiers who received degrees, Sgt. Anthony Lodiong, a logistician assigned to the 10th Mountain Division Sustainment Brigade, started college back in South Sudan. When he immigrated to the U.S., he transferred to Tulane University in New Orleans, and when he joined the Army and arrived at Fort Drum in 2013, he wasted no time in eventually earning his bachelor's degree in interdisciplinary studies with a concentration on educational and psychology from SUNY Empire State College.
Even a deployment to Afghanistan last year didn't slow him down. He chose his course of studies to eventually help other Soldiers.
"This is just the beginning for me," Lodiong said. "I'm looking forward to continuing my education -- there is no limit, and I plan on using every opportunity the Army gives me for my Soldiers, the Army, this country and my Family."
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