Father Celebrates Golden Anniversary and Leads Son's Graduation March at Rutgers-Camden

CAMDEN --  For the Lyford family, Commencement 2008 will be a real family affair at Rutgers-Camden. 

Stephen Lyford, a software engineer at L-3 Communications who has worked full-time while taking one or two classes a semester, will graduate with a degree in computer science 20 years after his high school graduation.  Better still, when Stephen marches in the processional at the start of the Rutgers—Camden Faculty of Arts and Sciences graduation ceremony at 6 p.m. Thursday, May 22, he’ll be guided by the same person who offered support at every step of his college career:  his father, Larry Lyford, will lead the graduation march as a Golden Raptor celebrating 50 years as a Rutgers—Camden graduate.

The timing is meaningful for the father-and-son team.  Though he went straight to college from high school, Lyford, now a resident of Bellmawr, decided to leave school.  He found a job in his chosen field of computers and, doing well, focused on his profession. After joining L-3 Communications five years ago, and finding himself working just a few blocks from the Rutgers-Camden campus, he returned to school with his employer’s support in order to complete his bachelor’s degree.

Larry, who is celebrating the 50th anniversary of his own graduation from Rutgers-Camden, enjoyed a long career in computers, working as a mainframe computer programmer-analyst for several Philadelphia firms, including the Federal Reserve Bank.  Now retired, he keeps busy with volunteer work.  The Voorhees resident also worked part-time at Rutgers-Camden with the Rutgers Family Business Resource Center.

Each year, two Rutgers—Camden graduates celebrating the 50^th anniversary of their graduating class are chosen to serve as “Golden Raptors” (Rutgers—Camden’s mascot is the Scarlet Raptor) and lead the processional during the evening commencement ceremony.

Information about Commencement 2008 at Rutgers-Camden may be found here.

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