Clover Crump didn’t just wear her cap and gown to Laurel Ridge’s commencement ceremony in May. She also wore her bicycle helmet.
For roughly a semester of her time at the college, she commuted the 10 miles from her now-husband’s house to the Middletown Campus by bicycle.
“I fell out of the habit of doing that during the rest of my time at Laurel Ridge because life got in the way,” said Crump, who earned her degree in general engineering technology with a specialization in civil engineering technology. “For commencement, I really wanted my last time at the college to be through the way that makes me happiest, so I commuted by bike.”
Riding her bike instead of driving her car aligns with more than just Crump’s passion for cycling. It’s also much more environmentally friendly.
Career-wise, Crump is particularly interested in urbanism. While attending Laurel Ridge, she was also taking online classes at Old Dominion University, and is now a senior there majoring in civil engineering. She also works full time at the Amazon Distribution Center north of Winchester.
“With increased density and better urban design, you can make safer, better neighborhoods that are more environmentally conscious and better to live in,” she said. “I used graduation day as sort of a springboard, and it’s really ignited my passion again. I’m aiming for cycling 1,000 miles by the end of the year.”
After graduating from Skyline high School in 2014, Crump originally came to Laurel Ridge to study for a healthcare career. After working as a certified nurse aide, she returned to the college in 2020 to study engineering, and is glad she did. Crump said she couldn’t have gotten to this point of graduating with her associate degree and being close to earning her bachelor’s degree without the support of her family, with special thanks to her sister, Rebecca.
Laurel Ridge provides educational opportunities that many students wouldn’t otherwise have, said Crump, who grew up outside Strasburg, in Warren County.
“I think higher education is very important, and I want people to understand that there’s a cheaper way to gain the credits they need to pursue their higher education goals, and that they can pursue them at their own pace,” she said. “I think a lot of people disqualify themselves before they can even attempt to do something different with their lives. Lowering the barrier of entry through a community college is very important. Noble, in fact.”