Bronco Legacy

Western Michigan University has a history of Broncos that have attended from the same family. There are stories of parent and child graduates, sibling graduates, and generations of graduates. However, the Lenkart family has the distinction of being made up of five current Broncos—four students and an employee, simultaneously. Kevin is pursuing a master's degree from the School of Public Affairs and Administration. He considers his family "fortunate to have a large and well-respected university" in close proximity to where they've settled. His wife Robin has been an employee in WMU's Department of Chemistry for six years and is proud that her eldest daughter will graduate this year "with a great education at a well-known and highly-esteemed university."

Kevin and Robin's three children, Allison, Lauren and Scott are also proud Broncos. Allison, a senior majoring in psychology, admits that she wanted to attend a university further from home initially, but has grown to love WMU. When thinking about graduating this year, Allison said, "I will really miss being on campus because I feel so comfortable here and have grown to love being a student and a Bronco. I have made many life-long friends." Allison's time at WMU will extend through this summer as she is preparing to study abroad in Ireland to visit elderly care and Alzheimer's facilities.

Lauren, an elementary education major and member of the Lee Honors College, credits WMU with giving her a second place to call home and granting her with opportunities to get involved on campus and with the community. She recently participated in the Alternative Spring Break where she volunteered at Give Kids the World, a resort for children with life-threatening illnesses and was inducted into the honors fraternity, Alpha Lambda Delta.

Although Scott is still in high school, he has been taking classes at WMU since the seventh grade as part of the Academically Talented Youth Program. He is now dual-enrolled at WMU and says he is thoroughly enjoying his classes. Scott's experience at WMU has solidified his decision to become an International Relations/Political Science major.