Former Ford employees John Graves, Kyle Mudd, and Brandon Wilson discuss Student Senate plans

Not long ago they were building Ford trucks in Louisville. Now they are building traditions at St. Catharine College. They are by no means your typical college students but they have become three of the most active students on the campus of St. Catharine College.

They are John Graves, Kyle Mudd and Brandon Wilson. Graves and Mudd graduated from Washington County High School in 1997 and 1991 respectively. Wilson, who now lives in Springfield, is a Lebanon native who graduated from Bethlehem High School in Bardstown in 1995. All three tried post-secondary education after high school but all eventually ended up working at Ford.

That work came to an end for the trio in 2007 when Ford offered a buyout to all workers in hopes that reduced production would better match demand for the Ford products. Over half of the 75,000 hourly employees of Ford took the buyout in one form or another. Graves, Mudd and Wilson chose the option of having four years of tuition paid for in lieu of one lump sum payment.

“The package also offered one-half of your salary for those four years and health insurance for the family,” said Graves. “I’m sure many took the lump sum but that came with no benefits which wasn’t an option for me with two kids (a daughter aged seven and a son, three).”

All three SCC students said family considerations were a big part of their decisions to leave Ford. “I probably wouldn’t have taken the buyout at all had it not been for the family,” said Mudd who has a 13 month old son. “I was on second shift most of the time and would never get to see my kids,” added Wilson who has two sons, ages five and two.

So now, rather than juggling truck parts for eight hours a day, the “non-traditional” college triumvirate is juggling school work, family responsibilities, part-time jobs and leadership roles at St. Catharine. In elections last fall Graves was elected as president of the Student Senate which was reorganized by the new Dean of Students, Dr. Vicki Guthrie. Wilson was elected as vice-president and Mudd was selected for the senate’s judiciary committee. The impact they have already made has not gone unnoticed.

“These three young men have contributed greatly to St. Catharine College and its students through their activity on campus and work with Student Senate,” Guthrie said. “They have strong leadership qualities and their willingness to make a difference at the college makes them great role models for other students.  They also demonstrate a strong commitment to academics and have achieved either Dean’s List or President’s List while being active student leaders,” Guthrie said.

Among other events, the Student Senate organized Patriot Madness, St. Catharine’s version of Midnight Madness to open the basketball season. The Senate had Purple Freak-Out which was a promotion for the basketball doubleheader against Southwest Tennessee that was preceded by Patriot Craze, a week of spirited activities on campus. In March the Student Senate held the first Patriot Gold Gala, a semi-formal evening including a prime rib dinner followed by a dance.

Graves, who was named the 2007-08 St. Catharine Student of the Year, has had a chance to meet with state and national leaders thanks to his student leadership role. He was part of the student delegation at AIKCU’s Legislative Day last February and was one of 175 college student leaders from around the country to attend the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee Policy Conference in Washington D.C. in May.

“I like to be involved, to be a part of what is going on,” said Graves of his decision to enter student government.

“Student government makes school enjoyable,” added Mudd. “If you just come to class and then go home you really don’t get a chance to meet people.”

All three students will be around campus for at least another year. Graves is a senior majoring in criminal justice. Mudd completed his prerequisites in the spring and is entering SCC’s radiography program this fall. Wilson is a senior psychology major. But even when they do exit St. Catharine College, they hope to have left something meaningful behind.

“Like the Gala,” said Wilson, “we hope to see that as a tradition that will continue.”

“It is nice to know that we were the ones that started it.” Graves added, “Yeah, we want to come back in 20 years to see that these things are still going on.”

From building trucks to building tradition, the three students who took the buyout have now bought in to the opportunities that college life can offer.

This article originally appeared in St. Catharine College News & Views.