IU to grant posthumous diplomas

Family, friends and graduates will fill the seats of Assembly Hall Saturday, with two faces missing.\nRegardless, the School of Continuing Studies and the School of Optometry will honor seniors Brett Hershey and Brett Swanda by granting them posthumous diplomas, said dean of students Richard McKaig. \n"This is a decision made by the school he is receiving his degree from," McKaig said. "There is not a written policy about how the University handles things like this. It's taken on a case-by-case basis."\nMcKaig explained that often when a student in good academic standings and near graduation passes away, the department they are enrolled in will grant the student the credits needed to fulfill their degree. Hershey was a few classes short of making the graduation cut-off, said Jim Johnson, program director for General Studies.\nHershey died in late March after his military vehicle drove over a land mine 30 miles south of Kabul, Afghanistan, while he served in the National Guard. \nHershey and Swanda, a fourth-year optometry student, will be recognized at the 3 p.m. commencement ceremony when IU-Bloomington Chancellor Ken Gros Louis addresses the graduating class. \n"In my opening remarks I am going to mention both Brett (Hershey) and Brett Swanda during both ceremonies," Gros Lois said. "But in the afternoon I am going to ask the audience to greet Nate Hershey, Brett's brother, and Brett Swanda's parents."\nSwanda passed away earlier this semester while at his rotational site in Texas, said Gerald Lowther, dean of the optometry school.\n"We will honor Brett (Swanda) in two ways," he said. "One will be giving his parents his diploma at a graduation dinner on Friday night. Also there will be a scholarship set up in his memory."\nFor the family and friends of Hershey, granting him his degree is great way to celebrate his love for life and recognize his achievements. He was scheduled to return from his tour in Afghanistan mid-July, said his mother Roxanne Hershey.\n"We really appreciate what the University is doing because it's an acknowledgement of Brett's accomplishments," she said. "It also gives us a sense of closure."\nHershey loved attending school at IU and being involved, said Liz Keller, his fiancee. That the University will give his family his degree is a testimony to that, she said.\n"Brett would want the graduating class to remember to prioritize your life in a way to make the most of it and that glorifies God," she said.\nSenior Colin Stark enlisted in the National Guard with Hershey during their senior year at North Central High School in Indianapolis. He said it would mean a lot to have Hershey with him during graduation time. \n"First and most importantly, it would mean he would be alive," he said. "I will miss having all the celebrations and hanging out this summer. To have him around would have meant the most out of anything." \nHershey was a member of a member of Sigma Chi fraternity and very active in Campus Crusade for Christ. He dedicated his life to spreading the word of God and wanted to teach everyone how to put their faith in God, Stark said.\nHershey lived life to the fullest and would want graduates to remember that no one is guaranteed anything, said senior Nate Graeser, who also enlisted with Stark and Hershey. Hershey loved being around people and college allowed him to experience that, he said. \n"Brett was a man who was loved by a lot people and he loved a lot people," he said. "He left a legacy of love. He lived every moment and had a blast doing it."\n-- Contact Campus Editor Maggie Bozich at mbozich@indiana.edu.