Double-diploma day for the Troesters

Troester photo

Mother and son Gloria and Nathan Troester

They had vastly different reasons for beginning their adventure at UW-Green Bay, but mother and son, Gloria and Nathan Troester, completed their journey together.

The Troesters both graduated on Saturday, May 13, 2017 with degrees in Integrative Leadership Studies through UW-Green Bay’s Division of Continuing Education and Community Engagement (formerly Adult Degree).

Nathan, who is a deputy treasurer for a local municipality, heard about the Integrative Leadership Studies degree and decided it was the best path for increasing his knowledge and giving him the best opportunity to succeed. “My focus in Leadership in Public Service fit me perfectly,” he said. “With the support of my fiance’ I was able to take 45 credits in 14 months and completed my last class in July.”

For Gloria, the degree path was a fulfillment of a lifelong dream.

“All of my adult life I have been working and knew that education is the key to providing a better life for my family,” she said. “My mother had always wanted me to attend college and one of our last conversations was her asking me to promise that I would finish my degree.”

She started with an associates degree followed by accounting classes at UW-River Falls, and finally, while participating in the Clerks and Treasurer’s Institute in Green Bay, heard a presentation about degree completion by UW-Green Bay’s Eric Craver, and envisioned the path that could help her meet her goal of a bachelor’s degree.

“My overall experience at UWGB was wonderful,” Gloria said. “If I were ask which professor had the most influence on my learning experience or made a difference, I would not be able to say because each and everyone of them added to my learning by doing a great job making it easy to follow the curriculum and staying engaged.”

Although they didn’t live in the same residence, Nathan was able to help Gloria negotiate the math requirement. And then it was a race to the finish. “I was working on my general education requirements, and Nathan was working on his area of emphasis,” Gloria said. “There has been plenty of discussion regarding who would finish first. My husband would kid around about starting a wager board.”

Campus officials are calling it a tie.

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