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        Photos by John Welsh

Commencement 2012

Class of 2012: Overcame Challenges and Accomplished Goals

Montgomery County Community College celebrated its 45th Commencement on May 17, 2012, with a total of 1,392 graduates—the largest class to date.

Held under an immense tent at the Central Campus in Blue Bell, the evening ceremony started with the music of the Festive Brass ensemble, a prelude to the welcoming remarks of President Dr. Karen A. Stout, followed by the comments of Board of Trustees Chair Michael D’Aniello and Montgomery County Commissioner Chair Joshua D. Shapiro.

The class of 2012 included a diverse, talented group of students, ranging in age from 17 to 71 years, with 49 international students from 23 different countries. Altogether, they earned a total of 1,417 associate’s degrees and certificates.

Student commencement speaker Sarah Munson described how the class’s diversity enriched her educational experience.

“We all have our differences, yet we united together under the common characteristic of our strong work ethic,” she said to the sea of graduates spanning in front of her. “I believe this characteristic is what makes our school unique compared to any other college or university. We have what it takes to work one or several jobs and maintain an academic schedule on top of that. We know what it is like to have a family or to be a single parent. We understand the hard work it takes to learn a new language or to be the youngest—or the oldest—in our class. We know what unemployment and poverty is. We have overcome many obstacles. I thank you 2012 graduates for what you have taught me and applaud you for all that you have accomplished to be here tonight.”

This year’s keynote speaker, Dr. William E. Trueheart, president and chief executive officer of Achieving the Dream Inc., shared words of inspiration and encouragement, describing his own challenges and the support he found during his educational journey.

“I also know when I tell you about the challenging road that I traveled, that I am preaching to the choir. For many of you, a huge part of your achievement has been about overcoming obstacles. Many of you took classes while holding down at least one job and/or taking care of your families. Many of you have also had to overcome self-doubts about your ability to succeed at this or other things. But your great achievement, one that can never be taken away from you, is that you stuck to your goals and achieved them,” Dr. Trueheart said.

Following his address, Dr. Trueheart received an honorary Associate in Letters degree from the College.

During the ceremony, Dr. Emenike Ukazim, Professor of Mathematics received the Christian R. and Mary F. Lindback Foundation Award for teaching excellence.

To read about our graduates' successes, visit http://mc3success.wordpress.com/2012-graduate-success-profiles/.


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