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Miami Hamilton Alumnus Mark Mignery Donates Time for CPSAS Recognition Ceremony

MUH Alumni Mark MignerySome regional campus alumni have been able to find ways to give back to the university without writing big checks. It's also possible to give your time.

When someone from the Hamilton Campus administration called to see if the city's paramedic squad could staff the CPSAS Divisional Recognition Ceremony on May 17, they made the request to Mark Mignery, the city's EMS coordinator for the Fire Department.

"Obviously, due to budget and personnel cuts, we were unable to fulfill that requests," Mignery said.

But that wasn't the end of the story, because Mignery, as it turns out, is a Hamilton Campus alumnus.

"I thought that if they just needed somebody for a few hours, I'd be happy to come by in my staff car and witness graduation in uniform," he said. "I'd have to donate my time, but if I can give back to Miami, I'd love to give back.

"As a citizen and an employee of Hamilton, I know that the Hamilton Campus is an integral part of the city," Mignery explained. "It's fantastic that we have these opportunities to provide for our residents. They're one of our larger employers and for all the things they've helped me accomplish in my life, not only by developing me and guiding me to where I am today."

Mignery went to the Hamilton Campus from 2000 to 2002 to study nursing after being an Oxford campus student for two years as a zoology/biology pre-med major.

"Organic chemistry is what changed my mind," he said. "I did okay the first semester, but after the first quiz and the first exam, I thought that maybe a career in medicine wasn't in the cards for me. The next best thing to being a doctor is being a nurse, so I went to nursing school."
Although he remained connected to Oxford for some extracurricular activities, such as being the mascot at basketball and football games, he said he found the community at the Hamilton campus very welcoming.

"It was a bit more homey than the Oxford campus and I felt at ease on a personal level," he said.
And when he sat down in the History 111 class, he met the love of his life, Alison Casey.
He never actually became a nurse, but he does use the knowledge in his career as an EMT.

"I finished nursing school with my associate's degree and then in the summer after my senior year, I had a lifelong friend tell me the Fire Department was hiring. I took the test and did really well on it and they offered me a job.

"I took the job, proposed to Alison and got engaged and the rest is history as they say," he said.

The CPSAS recognition ceremony is in addition to Miami's full university wide commencement ceremony beginning at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, May 16, at Yager Stadium. Details and instructions for commencement are at miamioh.edu/commencement.

Information for graduates and their families regarding the CPSAS recognition ceremony is available at regionals.miamioh.edu/cpsas-recognition-ceremony/

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