2008 Valedictorian: Beth Ann Dalrymple
Beth Ann Dalrymple speaking at the 2008 Commencement ceremony
University of Detroit Mercy's 2008 Valedictorian Beth Ann Dalrymple describes herself as "a non-traditional student." For the 44-year-old full-time Ford Motor Company thermal fluids engineer, that's an understatement. She wanted to be the valedictorian in high school but a failing liver, that later necessitated a transplant, got in her way. Now with a 4.0 GPA, she has achieved her dream of leading the class.
"I was always a very good student," says the Detroit native, who received her mechanical engineering degree from UDM on May 10 through a degree completion program with Ford for full-time employees. She has been employed at Ford for 18 years.
"I knew about the UDM/Ford program but did not sign up until 2000," she says. "I knew after the first lecture in my first class, Ethics in Engineering, this was the school for me. I had been to other universities but never had an ethics class. Ethics in the business world can be a challenge and how you handle that is a measure of who you are, and where your priorities and principles lie."
Dalrymple came to UDM in 2000 as a transfer student from the University of Michigan-Dearborn. Her studies and work at Ford temporarily had taken a backseat in 1999 when her rare liver disease progressed and she became a transplant candidate. "I waited six years for a liver," she recalls. "Although I continued to work and take night classes when possible, I was in and out of the hospital. Then in January 2006, I was moved to the top of the transplant list and was told to have my bags packed and ready to go."
Since her surgery and recuperation, resuming work and studies have not totally consumed her now-healthy life. "Grateful and blessed," Dalrymple helped organize the UDM "University Challenge," a competition among 16 Michigan colleges and universities to see who could sign up the most students, faculty and staff for the Michigan Organ Donor Registry. "We finished sixth. With regard to student-body size, I was so impressed with the willingness and generosity of the students and faculty," she says proudly.
At UDM, she also worked on the most recent Red Cross Blood Drive, as she had done at Ford. She also has volunteered for Gift of Life Michigan. "I speak to groups, classes, anyone who wants to know about organ donation," she explains. She also participates in a University of Michigan Hospital liver-transplant support group, which she helped found.
Last summer, she volunteered with UDM's Science, Technology and Engineering Preview Summer (STEPS) Camp, which promotes engineering and science careers for high school girls. This year, she is a volunteer with the Detroit Area Pre-College Engineering Program (DAPCEP), which brings minority high school students to UDM for summer programs.
Today, life is good, she says. "Being healthy feels so wonderful. I was able to complete my undergraduate degree at UDM and have started the master's program. I am working at Ford on some of the most exciting programs and am doing what I have always wanted to do, studying air flow and how it affects engine performance."
Surveying her life experiences so far, her message to other students, especially young women, is that "perseverance, hope and faith can yield endless opportunities."
