Two distinguished honorees say BC3 sparked their success
BUTLER TWP — Two women who represent the best of Butler County Community College alumni were honored Saturday at the college’s annual Oak Hills Celebration.
Shanea Clancy — who attended BC3 from 2004 to 2007 and went on to earn her bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in nursing — is the regional suicide prevention coordinator team lead at the Butler Veterans Health Administration.
Ivory Dunlap — who earned her associate degree in early childhood education in 1996 from BC3, before moving on to bachelor’s and master’s degrees in the field of education — is the director of the Office for Inclusive Excellence at Slippery Rock University.
As Nicholas Neupauer, BC3 president, pointed out in his speech, Dunlap also worked at BC3 from 2009 to 2021 as an associate professor, academic counselor and retention specialist.
She was a member of BC3’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Council, as well as the college’s Green Zone, which helps students transition from military life to civilian and college life.
Dunlap, of Butler Township, recalled telling her grandmother that she had been selected as a BC3 distinguished graduate for the 185 people in attendance at the lunchtime celebration at Founders Hall.
“She reminded me ‘Your granddad was the first Black trustee at BC3,’” Dunlap said through happy tears. "’He would be so proud.’”
She said her former co-workers at BC3 also figured into her current success.
“The family — I wouldn’t be here without is the family I made at BC3,” Dunlap said. “They got me through difficult times and made good times even better.”
She thanked the BC3 Education Foundation and her BC3 family for the honor bestowed on her by Neupauer.
“Who knows? Maybe my journey will end as a trustee, just like granddad,” Dunlap said.
Clancy talked about the friendships forged at BC3, and the lessons of hard work, perseverance, and love for education instilled in her as a student on the campus.
She said BC3 is a great choice because it is cost-efficient, local and was named the best community college in Pennsylvania for the ninth straight year this year.
In addition, Clancy said, she is living proof that BC3 can change lives.
“I stand before you as a proud product of Butler County Community College,” Clancy said.
Lucas Ray, a second-year BC3 Presidential Scholar, served as the event’s student speaker.
Presidential scholars are students who graduated in the top 10% of the classes from a Butler County high school. Those students are eligible to receive tuition for up to 18 credits if they attend BC3 full time.
Ray, who received a full scholarship, said he heard a number of negative comments when he announced he would attend BC3.
“But guess what? BC3 is far more than just a two-year school,” he said.
He said BC3 is like another home, and a breeding ground for genuine friendships and close professional relationships with knowledgeable and down-to-Earth professors.
“Courses are challenging, yet not overwhelming, flexible yet structured, thought-provoking and eye-opening,” Ray said. “For a high-achieving student like me who balances 13 credit hours per week, 30 to 35 work hours per week, a home life and a social life, this campus is nothing short of the perfect place to be.”
The 2023-24 scholarship recipients at the event expressed gratitude for the donors who made this year’s $210,000 in educational gifts possible.
Raeleigh Hauserman, a freshman in BC3’s registered nurse program, received the Pat & Joe Bajuszik Scholarship.
“It’s really competitive, so everyone in the program really wants to be there,” Hauserman said of the school’s nursing program, “and it’s small, so you can get a lot of one-on-one time with professors.”
She hopes to be a nurse in psychiatry or labor and delivery someday.
Brady Hurley, who also is a freshman in the registered nurse program at BC3, received the Tack Scholarship.
“I’m really grateful,” Hurley said. “Every little bit helps, and that was part of my mentality in coming to a community college.”
Hurley said Clancy and Dunlap greatly deserve their designations as distinguished graduates.
“It’s an honor to be able to follow in their footsteps,” he said.
