An Ithaca College student during the Vietnam War, Michael Slepian '71 had to miss his own Commencement ceremony in order to fulfill his military obligations. Slepian, who was a television-radio major, spent most of his senior year in training for the army reserves. He completed his course work and received his degree the summer after the rest of his class had graduated.
Now an executive in a large Philadelphia insurance firm, the 46-year-old Slepian has finally able to put behind him the disappointment of missing out on graduation. He marched at Ithaca's 101st Commencement ceremony, while his wife, two children, parents, two brothers, a sister, and other well-wishers looked on. Just two weeks after mingling with the class of 1996, Slepian joined his 1971 classmates to celebrate their 25th reunion.
-Mary Lash