Recent graduate, Kristin King has service in her blood. Her grandfather served in the U.S. Army and her uncle in the U.S. Air Force. Feeling the call to serve, Kristin enlisted in the Army at the age of 17. The first airplane trip of her life was to go to basic training in South Carolina. Kristin was deployed to Iraq, where she managed property and supplies in the service of the American war effort.

After being discharged in 2014, Kristin came back home to Leominster. She wanted to continue her education and after being so far from home for so long, she decided to stay local and enrolled at Fitchburg State. It was a decision that would change several lives for the better.

At first, the transition to college life was challenging. The freedom and self-direction of a student was a far cry from the rigid structure experienced by a soldier. Kristin was also several years older than most of her peers in the classroom, creating a further sense of distance. But Kristin doesn’t give up.

Barbara A. Wilson, a 1980 alumna of Fitchburg State and the co-founder and president of Wilson Language Training, will deliver the address at Fitchburg State University's undergraduate commencement exercises on Saturday, May 21.

After Anderlene Streeks graduated from high school she decided to continue her education at nursing school. Her degree plans sat on a shelf, however, as she stayed home to raise her five sons.