Tarleton commencement speaker credits mom for teaching core values

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, August 8, 2018

STEPHENVILLE, Texas — Emily Treadaway doesn’t see her childhood as anything extraordinary. Others might disagree.

The daughter of a single mother, she grew up in the small Central Texas town of Bangs. She will make the commencement address for summer graduates during the ceremony for Tarleton State University’s Colleges of Business Administration and Liberal and Fine Arts at 1 p.m. Aug. 10.

“My speech centers around Tarleton’s core values, specifically serving others,” she said. “That doesn’t necessarily mean going to a food pantry or doing volunteer work. You can make the difference in someone’s life just by one interaction.”

She says her mom was the perfect role model for the university’s core value of service.

“She taught me to be good to others. It’s kind of a vague phrase but it really encompasses Tarleton’s core values of integrity, leadership, tradition, civility, excellence and especially service.”

Emily, the Outstanding Graduate in the College of Business Administration’s Management Department, is in a position both to know and to share those values. As the transfer services coordinator, she regularly interacts with students.

After an extended layoff, she decided to return to school to finish her bachelor of applied arts and science degree in business, making her husband and children partners in her educational trek.

“The biggest challenge was balancing work, home and school,” she said. “It took a lot of sacrifice of my home life to do homework instead of spending time with my family. That was the hard part.”

Perhaps like most commencement speakers, Emily is apprehensive about speaking to her fellow summer graduates, their families and friends, but she understands that a service-related responsibility accompanies the honor.

“My kids will be in the stands watching,” she said. “That’s where I’m going to focus my attention. I know they’re going to be proud of me and maybe it’ll make a change in their life, career or education choices.”

That’s extraordinary.

Tarleton, founding member of The Texas A&M University System, provides a student-focused, value-driven education marked by academic innovation and a dedication to transform today’s scholars into tomorrow’s leaders. It offers degree programs to more than 13,000 students at Stephenville, Fort Worth, Waco, Midlothian, RELLIS Academic Alliance in Bryan, and online, emphasizing real-world learning experiences that address societal needs while maintaining its core values of tradition, integrity, civility, excellence, leadership and service.

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Contact: Phil Riddle, News & Information Specialist
817-484-4415
[email protected]

A founding member of The Texas A&M System, Tarleton State University is breaking records — in enrollment, research, scholarship, athletics, philanthropy and engagement — while transforming the lives of approximately 18,000 students in Stephenville, Fort Worth, Waco, Bryan and online. For 125 years, Tarleton State has been committed to accessible higher education opportunities for all while helping students grow academically, socially and professionally through programs that emphasize real world learning and address regional, state and national needs.
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