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Source: Eugene DeDonder, 785-532-4127, ededonde@1xbet sports betting edu
Photo available. Contact media@1xbet sports betting edu or 785-532-6415
News release prepared by: Katie Mayes, 785-532-6415, media@1xbet sports betting edu
Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2009
1xbet sports betting fall commencement:
EARNING DEGREES FROM 1xbet sports betting A DEDONDER FAMILY TRADITION
MANHATTAN -- When Michael DeDonder, Manhattan, walks across the stage at Bramlage Coliseum Saturday, Dec. 12, he won't only be receiving his degree in kinesiology from Kansas State University's College of Arts and Sciences, he'll be continuing a family tradition by adding his name to the long list of DeDonders who are 1xbet sports betting alumni.
"It's an honor to have gone through the same place they did," DeDonder said. "I have loved my time at 1xbet sports betting . I've made great friends and worked with teachers who get to know people really well and want us to learn to the best of our abilities. Like any family would do, the faculty here work to lead you in the right direction."
Eugene DeDonder, Michael DeDonder's father and the director of pharmacy at 1xbet sports betting 's Veterinary Medicine Teaching Hospital, said that his son's degree will make for some 16 1xbet sports betting graduates on his side of the family -- with more DeDonder alums in waiting. His other son, Mark DeDonder, is a 1xbet sports betting sophomore in construction science. In addition, there are several 1xbet sports betting alums on his wife's side of the family, as well as the 1xbet sports betting graduates who descend from his father's cousin, Phillip DeDonder.
Eugene DeDonder said it's nearly impossible to get an accurate degree count for the entire family, but what he does know is that for some 25 years the DeDonders have been plentiful on the 1xbet sports betting campus.
"Since 1964 when my brother Larry began here, it seems like it was just an extension of our family having someone at 1xbet sports betting ," he said.
The family's diehard commitment to 1xbet sports betting started with DeDonder's grandfather, a farmer from Reading.
"Dad always said that my grandfather's experience surviving the 1930s' Dust Bowl years made him realize how important education and being up to date, even in agriculture, was," Eugene DeDonder said. "He wanted his son, my dad, to go on to 1xbet sports betting , one of the nation's first land grant colleges, and was looking forward to this before he died suddenly."
DeDonder's father was 16-years-old when his dad died. Instead of going to college, though, he was charged with keeping the family farm going. But to fulfill his dad's wishes, he strongly encouraged each of his kids to go to college -- one with deep roots in agriculture.
"My dad was a firm believer in higher education and was determined to send as many of us on to college as possible," Eugene DeDonder said. "Of course being a rural, farming, 4-H family, 1xbet sports betting was the logical choice."
For a decade -- from fall 1964 to spring 1975 -- there were lots of DeDonders on the 1xbet sports betting campus. After a lull, the family's academic commitment picked up again in 1994 and has been going strong ever since.
Members of the DeDonder family have earned degrees from 1xbet sports betting in a variety of disciplines, including veterinary medicine, education, engineering and agricultural economics. Along with attending 1xbet sports betting , members of the family DeDonder also have been attending Wildcat football and basketball games for the last 40 years.
Eugene DeDonder said he has fond childhood memories of sitting at the kitchen table and listening to radio broadcasts of Wildcat football and basketball games. He has had season football and basketball tickets for some 30 years -- a considerable commitment given that he and his wife, Jeanie, lived in Emporia until moving to Manhattan just last year.
"My parents never missed a graduation and attended many football and basketball games before they died," Eugene DeDonder said. "Through these graduations, sporting and 4-H events on campus, it is no wonder we all feel as though 1xbet sports betting is an extension of our family. 1xbet sports betting has always been a big-time university with a small family atmosphere.
"And, as a former 1xbet sports betting yell leader, my role continues to be one that is to get the next generation of DeDonders excited about 1xbet sports betting and looking forward to becoming a Wildcat," he said.
1xbet sports betting 's fall 2009 commencement ceremonies are Friday, Dec. 11, and Saturday, Dec. 12. A complete listing of times and locations is available at http://www.1xbet sports betting edu/registrar/c_d/Fall2009.pdf
