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Fallen grad remembered at FSCC ceremony
Audience members in the packed house at Memorial Hall stood as the young man walked across the stage on Friday.
The purpose of his presence was the same and yet different from that of the nearly 250 Fort Scott Community College students who received degrees during ceremonies on Friday.
In fact, he was not even a college graduate at all.
This young man in cap and gown was 11-year-old Tommy Zibung, the son of former Moran resident Thomas Zibung, who died May 14 at the University of Kansas Medical Center from injuries suffered when his motorcycle struck a deer three miles east of Moran on U.S. Highway 54.
The elder Zibung would have graduated from the FSCC Harley-Davidson Technician Training Program on Friday. Tommy, struggling to control his emotions, received the diploma Friday in his father's honor.
Zibung's close friend, Brandon Burton, another graduate in the Harley program, was driving a Chevy Blazer ahead of Zibung the night of the crash but was not injured. The two friends were headed home from a motorcycle mechanics training session at FSCC when the fatal accident occurred.
The younger Zibung received two standing ovations from the crowd as he accepted his dad's diploma and returned to sit with the rest of the Harley graduates, who wore Zibung's initials, "T.Z." emblazoned on the fronts of their graduation gowns and rode motorcycles to and from the ceremony in honor of their fallen friend and classmate.
Other presentations during ceremonies on Friday included the singing of the National Anthem by FSCC student Heather Davenport and a welcome speech from FSCC President Jim Miesner. The Outstanding Young Alumnus at FSCC this year, local attorney Justin Meeks, also addressed students. Meeks attended local schools and graduated from FSCC in 1994. He was also named Student of the Year that year. He has worked with a local law firm since October 2004.
Meeks talked about some of his fondest memories during his time at FSCC, which he called his favorite alma mater, and told graduates that the key to success lies in their hands.
"This is free legal advice, so you'd better listen," Meeks said. "Give back to the community and keep education in your sights, because it's the key to success. Find a career you love and learn everything about it. Learning is a very powerful tool."
The Outstanding FSCC sophomore this year was Paola native John Menefee, who excelled academically and in a variety of agriculture and FFA programs at FSCC. Menefee commended his fellow graduates for making it through one of their most difficult challenges, and like Meeks, encouraged students to pursue success in life.
"In order to be successful, we sometimes have to face difficult challenges in life," Menefee said. "There were many times where I saw that, instead of failing, you chose to succeed."
As an example of this, Menefee cited the recent turn-around of the FSCC football team, which went from a two-and-a-half year losing streak last year to earning a bowl berth last year and becoming one of the strongest football programs in the state. Menefee reminded students that happiness and finding something that they love to do is more important than becoming rich and famous.
"No amount of money or fame can buy happiness," he said. "So we begin the next journey of success in our lives," he told graduates in closing.
Robert Nelson, a member of the FSCC Board of Trustees, was the Outstanding Alumnus this year and addressed graduates during Friday evening ceremonies. Nelson is a Fort Scott native who graduated from Fort Scott High School in 1952. He attended what was then Fort Scott Junior College in 1952-54. After serving in the U.S. Army, Nelson received a bachelor's and later a master's degree in education at the University of Michigan.