Lackawanna College confers degrees to five students from Sunbury campus

Justin Strawser, The Daily Item, Sunbury, Pa.
·2 min read

Jun. 21—SUNBURY — A Riverside man said he was inspired to earn a degree from Lackawanna College in honor of his father, a solid plan to provide a better life for his son with hearing loss.

Robert Sees, 41, of Riverside, was one of five students who graduated recently from the Sunbury Center of Lackawanna College.

The college, based in downtown Scranton, awarded 114 bachelor's degrees along with more than 413 associate degrees and 36 certificates at the college's 128th commencement on May 14 in the College's Student Union building.

The ceremony honored the class of 2022, along with the classes of 2020 and 2021, who had a virtual ceremony due to the impact of COVID-19.

Sees earned an associate's degree in business administration from Lackawanna in 2020 and then finished the Bachelor's program this year.

"My dad was a major force in me wanting to go back to school," said Sees. "I also wanted to provide a better life for my son."

His 3-year-old-son spent 97 days in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit when he was born. Sees took a semester off to be with his family. His son has severe to profound hearing loss, he said.

Sees works in project management work for the Clinical Assessment Management Department at Geisinger.

"I was about as high as I could go without a bachelor's degree," he said.

He selected Lackawanna because they had a campus so close to his home in Riverside. He took in-person classes, including ones for math, and online courses.

Sunbury Center Director Philip Campbell said a total of nine students from the local campus attended graduation in Scranton.

The graduation ceremony in Scranton had graduates receiving their degrees including the first-ever class of Nursing students.

Heather Tomlinson of Scranton presented the valedictory address to the class of 2022, 2020 and 2021.

Tomlinson earned her bachelor's degree in professional studies degree from Lackawanna.

On campus, Tomlinson is a member of the Creative Arts Club. She held an internship at Lackawanna County Children's Library.

She plans to pursue a master's degree in library science after graduation.

Campbell said enrollment for this fall in Sunbury is expected to be nearly 60 students.

The Sunbury branch, located at the Sunbury Plaza at 1145 N. Fourth St., opened its first semester in Sunbury in August 2017.