Married in 1947, Gordon and Geraldine Cooper raised 15 children in Sault Ste. Marie. The daughter of Italian immigrants, Geraldine’s career was raising their family until her death from breast cancer in 1981. Gordon, a World War II veteran, supported them through work as Sunlight Dairy and then, later, as a building attendant at Lake Superior State College. The College was also a gateway for opportunity for their family. Through the G.I. Bill and hard work, several of their children enrolled and graduated from LSSC. Later, many of their grandchildren either started their postsecondary education at Lake State, or earned degrees from there. The opportunities that Lake State offered allowed the family to build better lives for themselves and others. Successful candidates must an incoming freshman who is a graduate of a Michigan Eastern Upper Peninsula high school majoring in a Lukenda School of Business program with preference to a student majoring in Accounting with a minimum 3.0 GPA.