Little girl with big stick

DURING A GRADUATION ceremony at the Hannaford Career Center in Middlebury on Saturday, Vermont Technical College Nursing Faculty Josie Kruse of Middlebury gets help from her daughter Phoebe in hefting an 8-foot-long stick. VTC staff used it to offer graduating students driving by a “pin” that signifies they have earned their associates degree. “It was quite comical but the students appreciated the recognition and closure of a ceremony,” Kruse said. Nine Middlebury-area students received their pins: Sean Beinhaur and Cindy Gosselin of Shoreham, Rebecca Courtright of Clemons, N.Y., Erin Hammond of Lincoln, Rachel Lavoie and Erin Sullivan of Middlebury, Caitlynn Pecor of Vergennes, Jason Wilder of Pittsford, and Charlene Parker or Whitehall, N.Y.
Photo courtesy of Josie Kruse