An Elizabethtown College education is for people who feel the pull to contribute to the world. With a network of 24,425 living alumni, our graduates leave Etown to become the influential advocates and changemakers the world needs more of.
Elizabethtown College’s annual Commencement ceremony is a cherished campus tradition that celebrates the final chapter of our students’ Etown experience and signifies the beginning of their lives as Blue Jay alumni.
Jon ’97 and Betsy (Thomas) ’95 Cramer fondly remember striding across the stage in The Dell to receive their hard-earned degrees during their respective Commencement ceremonies.
Nearly 30 years later, the Cramers were back in The Dell, this time as proud parents watching daughter Megan cross that same stage during Etown’s 122nd Commencement on Saturday, May 10, to receive her Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education.
“It was a very proud moment for us to be watching Megan follow in our footsteps so many years later,” Jon said.
And it was an experience that the couple most likely never dreamed of when they first met on campus in the fall of 1994. Jon moved into Founders D-3 as a sophomore and was introduced to Betsy, a senior Communications major, who was friends with his new roommate and had lived on D-3 her entire time at Etown. Jon, a Mathematics major, quickly connected with Betsy and her network of friends, and by mid-semester, they were dating.
Following her graduation, Betsy continued to visit Jon when he lived at the International House on Mount Joy Street, and they participated in many campus activities together. They wed in 1998, after Jon proposed in the gazebo at Lake Placida.
After graduation, Betsy worked for several years in community relations for the York County Solid Waste Authority, where she helped educate children about the importance of recycling and respect for the environment. Upon the birth of their eldest daughter, Kate, who is a high school art teacher, Betsy became a full-time parent and later launched her passion project of growing produce on her family’s farm that she sells to a network of loyal local customers.
“Being a positive role model for our girls was of utmost importance to me,” Betsy said. “It was a wonderful experience to raise two girls into strong young women who are and will be great teachers.”
Jon credits Etown’s Mathematics faculty for utilizing a practical-minded approach to help students understand the real-world applications of the subjects they were teaching. This allowed him to pass several preliminary actuarial exams prior to graduation. He has been with Conrad M. Siegel Inc. in Harrisburg, Pa., since then and is currently a consultant to family lawyers in a specialized area of the retirement services industry.
Jon and Betsy said that what attracted them to Etown was its proximity to home, focus on academics, and experienced faculty members. Like her parents, Megan was impressed with the faculty, particularly the Education Department’s philosophy on training future teachers.
“My parents would talk about the close friendships that they made and the fun activities that they would do on and off campus,” Megan said. “They would tell me about the close connections with their professors, which was something that I was looking for in my college search.”
While a student at Etown, Megan was a member of the Education Organization (EdOrg), the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC), and the education honor society Kappa Delta Pi, serving as president of CEC during her junior year and secretary of KDP during her senior year. She also worked as a Resident Assistant and Blue Jay Ambassador, and enjoyed a summer 2024 study abroad experience in Cusco, Peru, that included classes and volunteering at an afterschool program for economically disadvantaged children.
With her Elementary Education degree in hand, Megan will begin teaching K-2 therapeutic emotional support this fall in the South Western School District in Hanover, Pa.
Jon and Betsy have been faithful supporters of the College and its initiatives since they graduated, and they recently established the Future Teachers of America Scholarship, which will benefit Education majors who have financial need.
“We have just come to appreciate how important teachers were in our learning, and in Kate and Megan’s learning,” Jon and Betsy said. “With the great demand for excellent teachers to shape future generations, we just want to support those who are interested in developing their passion for teaching.”
View more Etown Changemakers at etown.edu/125.