April Schultz
  • English
  • Class of 2015
  • Fort Atkinson, WI

April Schultz graduated from Carthage College

2015 May 28

April Schultz of Fort Atkinson , WI, graduated from Carthage College as the College awarded degrees to 530 students on Sunday, May 24, 2015, during its Commencement ceremony in the N. E. Tarble Athletic and Recreation Center Field House.

The ceremony was a joyful finale to four amazing years at Carthage -- and a fitting end to a beautiful Commencement weekend celebrating the accomplishments of the Carthage Class of 2015.

Even when the outlook is bleak, Emmy-winning broadcast journalist Laura Ling urged Carthage's graduating class to "always have hope."

While 530 members of the Class of 2015 might have expected that kind of advice from a Commencement speaker, Ms. Ling received it in a much starker setting: a North Korean prison. She described the internal transformation that helped her endure 140 days in captivity.

"That dark period became the biggest test of my strength," she said.

She advised the new Carthage alumni to soak up new experiences "like a sponge" and to devote more time to family. On Memorial Day weekend, Ms. Ling paid tribute to those who died protecting U.S. values and challenged the graduates to seize control of their freedom to mold the world they inhabit.