Valerie Foushee

Transcription

Gracious God, we invoke your name at the beginning of this graduation ceremony, precisely because you are the source of all growth and learning and wisdom. Let us pray. May all the graduates of Durham Technical Community College of 2015, proud and hopeful, grow into mature men and women, confident in their future. Gracious God, do not have them look at the challenges and the problems they will face in their future with fear and trepidation, but rather have them go forth from this graduation seeing the challenges and struggles of life as real and holy opportunities. Priceless treasures offered them to build a better world in which to live. May they have your guidance and strength all their days. In God’s holy name we pray, amen. I wish each of you could stand here and see how beautiful you look sitting out there. It always amazes me when I look out at the audience when I’m at graduation and see parents. I have been one of those parents, or friend, or a spouse, who can recognize that graduate in all of the black gowns that are coming down the aisle. You are waving and clapping and speaking to your graduates and that’s such a beautiful thing because I know all of you helped them to get where they are. I’m Mary Ann Black, chair of the Durham Technical Community College Board of Trustees. It gives me great pleasure to welcome you to our 2015 Commencement Exercise. For the seventh year, we gather at the beautiful Durham Performing Arts Center. I think it’s an appropriate venue, since in just a few minutes, Durham Tech’s newest graduates will enjoy their special moment in the spotlight as we celebrate the many goals they have achieved. The great Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said “Intelligence plus character ˗ that is the true goal of education.” Today we are here to honor you for the certificates, the diplomas or degrees you have earned, and for the hard work needed to accomplish your educational goals. Today is also a testament to your perseverance and dedication. We know that you have made sacrifices during your quest for learning, and that the road toward higher education has helped you grow into the person you are today. Pushing past these obstacles has strengthened your resolve to demonstrate not only your intelligence, but your character. We thank your family and friends for the support that they have offered, and we’re thrilled that they have joined us today to share in the recognition of your great achievements. And I know you have already thanked your parents and friends as well, for all of the help that they have given you. You may notice that some of the graduates are wearing white sashes. These are in honor of Mr. George Washington Newton, a gentleman who for more than 50 years was a staunch supporter and benefactor for Durham Tech. We were sad to hear that Mr. Newton passed away last month. And the students wearing the sashes have been recipients of scholarships as a result of his philanthropy. Mr. Newton has impacted the lives of hundreds of Durham Tech students, faculty, and staff and we honor him today at this ceremony. My colleagues on the Board of Trustees and I are proud of what you have accomplished here. And we are excited to see what you will accomplish as you set even greater goals for yourself. Congratulations. Enjoy these moments. Go forward and use your intelligence and character to help make our community and our world a better place. Again, congratulations graduates. Good afternoon. And welcome. On behalf of the faculty and staff of Durham Technical Community College, I add my welcome to the 2015 graduating class as well as to family and friends gathered here for this special occasion. I would like to recognize a number of special guests who are with us this afternoon. You have just heard from the Honorable MaryAnn Black, chair of the Durham Technical Community College Board of Trustees. Other members of the Board of Trustees who have joined us this afternoon include John Burness, vice-chair, Mr. Stephen Barringer, Mr. David Dodson, the Honorable Brenda Howerton, the Honorable Renee Price, Dr. Hank Scherich, and Mr. Chuck Wilson. Please join me in thanking these individuals for their leadership and their support. This marks the seventh year we have been welcomed into the Durham Performing Arts Center, without question the most spectacular venue for any graduation for any community college in North Carolina. I thank Bob Klaus, general manager, and the staff here at DPAC for their assistance and support this afternoon. The most important word in our title is “community.” It refers both to the communities we serve and the community that we are — a community of learners. This afternoon’s celebration is the culmination of a year of accomplishment and success for the community that is our students, our faculty, and our staff. Today is a tangible demonstration of the way this institution embodies its mission of being a champion for learning and success, delivering outstanding teaching and service, and developing career skills for today and tomorrow. An important aspect of community is family. I would like the family members of this afternoon’s graduates to please stand and be recognized. For the past two, or three, or four, or more years, you have been there to support our graduates — to serve as their chefs and chauffeurs, their baby sitters and study partners, their book-keepers and their bankers, their shoulders to lean on and to cry on, their motivation and their inspiration. Their success is your success, as well, so on their behalf I thank you for all you’ve done to support them. The core of the Durham Tech community is our faculty and staff. Our excellence is the result of their dedication and imagination, their creativity and commitment. I would like our faculty and staff to stand and be recognized. I thank you for everything you do every day to serve our students and the communities of Durham and Orange counties. In particular, I thank Candice Capers, Gilbert Umberger, and other members of the Commencement Planning Committee. This group has been working diligently for the past several months in planning, coordinating, and organizing our commencement exercises. Please join me in thanking them for their efforts. Last Friday at our annual Employee Appreciation event, we formally recognized Lance Lee, Spanish instructor in the Arts, Science, and University Transfer Department, as the recipient of our college’s 2014-15 Excellence in Teaching award. Friday we also recognized Karen McPhaul, Senior Director for Instructional Technology, as the recipient of the college’s Excellence in Support Services award for her work in overseeing our web-based and distance learning initiatives. We also honored Greg Walton, instructor and director of the Dental Laboratory Technology program, as the recipient of the Excellence in Community Service Award for his support of the Missions of Mercy program that provides dental care to low-income residents of our state. Please join me in congratulating Karen, Lance, and Greg for their accomplishments this year. Our 330 full-time faculty and staff alone cannot adequately serve the more than 20,000 individuals who enroll in at least one class each year at Durham Tech. We rely on the expertise and commitment of a highly qualified and committed part-time work force to carry out our mission. This year we also recognized seven of the nearly 500 part-time faculty and staff members whose collective contributions to our college are invaluable: Helen Coleman, High School Completion Instructor; Timothy Postell, Art Instructor; Pat Neems, English as a Second Language Instructor; Kathy Beres, Nursing Instrutor; Kamara Carpenter, Esthetics Instructor; Robert Ballard, Automotive Instructor; and Maria Steele, Program Assistant in Continuing Education. Please join me in noting the accomplishments of these important members of the Durham Tech faculty and staff. But this afternoon is about our students and their efforts and successes. And the class of 2015 has exerted extraordinary effort that has led to extraordinary success, in the classroom and in the community. Here are just a few examples: Earlier this year, Shantel Richardson was chosen as Durham Tech’s Academic Excellence Award recipient for 2014-15. After graduating high school in Georgia in 2012, Shantel moved here to live with her sister where she worked in retail and volunteered in a local nursing home. Though she was busy working, traveling and volunteering, she realized she needed to continue learning, so after a year she enrolled at Durham Tech. Shantel graduates today and in the fall will be a junior at North Carolina State University, majoring in Biology with plans for a career in medicine. Andrew McRae and Casey Van Alstyne are both graduates this afternoon before they transfer to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. They are recipients of the highly competitive Jack Kent Cooke Community College Transfer Scholarship that provides them with up to $40,000 a year for up to three years while they pursue their bachelor’s degrees. Nationwide over 2,000 students apply for 90 scholarships awarded this year. And Megan Cadwallader, a graduate for the Leadership Triangle’s College edition graduates today before transferring to Appalachian State to pursue her dream of becoming a lawyer. Today Shantel and Megan, Andrew and Casey are just four of more than 300 people, ranging in age from 17 to 65, who will cross this stage and become graduates of Durham Technical Community College. They’re joined today by Sarah Pohlig, who receives her second college degree today. After completing her Bachelor’s degree in English at UNC-Chapel Hill, Sarah had to cobble together several low-paying jobs in order to support herself and her daughter, but while completing an internship at Advanced Integrated Manufacturing Solutions as part of her Associate in Applied Science degree in Computer Programming and Applications, Sarah got a job as an entry-level programmer that will pay her fourteen times more than she earned last year. On the other hand, Gary Stafford gave up a 25 year career in Information Technology to return to the family business. And while completing his degree in Opticianry this spring, Gary won a poetry competition for college students sponsored by the Poetry Society of New Hampshire. And, speaking of poets, today we say farewell to Nadiah Porter, a Paralegal Technology graduate who, as a work study student, has inspired us with her extraordinary talent as an interpretive speaker and poet at our annual Martin Luther King celebrations. Today we celebrate academic excellence and we also recognize and celebrate persistence. In 1999, at the age of 42, Westra Brown decided to go back to school. Since that time—for the past sixteen years—Westra has enrolled in one class in the fall semester and one class each spring. Like many adult students, Mathematics was at first a challenge for her, but she never gave up. And today, at the age of 58, Westra Brown will receive her associate in applied science degree with honors in Information Systems. This afternoon’s participants are only a portion of our 54th graduating class as in the past year we have awarded more than 1,000 degrees, diplomas and certificates to nearly 700 individuals in our curriculum programs, over 200 in continuing education, and nearly 100 high school equivalency credentials. Our graduates are entering professions that are in high demand in our community. The class of 2015 includes 40 graduates from the Associate Degree in Nursing program, and 14 Licensed Practical Nurses. In the past year nearly 40 new police officers have completed our Basic Law Enforcement program. Earlier this year 17 students graduated from Durham Tech’s Fire Academy and in the past twelve months another 120 have completed our Nursing Assistant program. Today two students receive their associates’ degrees Durham Tech even before graduating from high school. Lauren Brennan and Emma Santoianni both have completed the Associate in Science degree while enrolled in the Middle College High School which hold its graduation on Friday. Durham Tech serves an increasingly diverse community. One hundred eight international students from 31 different nations will graduate this afternoon. But while our graduates come from diverse backgrounds and leave us to pursue diverse careers, a characteristic that unites the class of 2015 is its generosity and commitment to service. In the past academic year, nearly 250 Durham Tech students, faculty and staff logged have logged more than 5,000 volunteer hours in such places as the Briggs Avenue Community Garden, Habitat for Humanity, and Durham Tech’s own Campus Harvest Food Pantry, contributing a cash equivalent of nearly $100,000 to our community’s well-being. Durham Tech’s students continue a legacy of giving back to their community and their world. Finally, as I mentioned earlier, family is a deeply important aspect of community. In 2000, Murtado Bustillos came to this country from Colombia, and over the course of the next five years three of his brothers followed. And this year seven members of the extended Bustillos family graduate from Durham Tech. Luthfi Bustillos, Murtado’s son, graduates today before transferring to UNC-Chapel Hill to major in information science. His mother, Luzita Francis, is also transferring to UNC-Chapel Hill where she will study public health policy. They are joined here today by four of Luthfi’s cousins: Fariz Bustillo Pollard will major in Economics at UNC-Chapel Hill. Both Rohniah Bustillo-Arrechea and her sister Latimah will transfer to Meredith College to study pre-med and chemistry, respectively. Another cousin, Muhammad Bustillo-Silva will study electrical engineering at North Carolina State, UNC-Charlotte, or East Carolina University. And a fifth cousin, Rasjid Bustillo-Martinez will transfer to North Carolina State to study political science. Communities are places where people care for one another, and in Durham Technical Community College, the Bustillo family found a community that nurtured and supported their desire for a better life. Durham Tech is here to enrich communities and the people of Orange and Durham Counties by providing educational programs and services that enable them to live more productive and meaningful lives. So once again, welcome to the 2015 Commencement exercises for Durham Technical Community College. We thank you for being here today to celebrate the accomplishments of our graduates and wish them well as they return to our communities and, in turn, enrich and enliven us. Hello Durham Tech. My name is Benton Foreman, and I am your 2014-2015 Student Senate President. It’s been both an honor and a privilege to serve the college and my fellow students over this past year, and I thank you for entrusting me with this responsibility. I greet you today with a mix of emotions that we all share. Pride in what we have just accomplished, sorrow in saying good-bye to the friendly faces that have become so familiar, but most of all excitement about the next stage of our lives which commences today. I also want to take this opportunity to thank Durham Tech’s faculty, staff, administration, and trustees who have exceeded my expectations for excellence since the first day that I arrived on campus. Our keynote speaker today is Senator Valerie Foushee. Senator Foushee is a born and bred Tarheel. A Chapel Hill native, she graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a degree in Political Science and African American studies. The senator dedicated 21 years to serving the Chapel Hill Police Department while overseeing and $11 million annual budget. From 1997 through 2004 she was a member of the Board of Education for the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools, serving for two of those years as the board chair. In 2004, she was elected to the all-state school board by the North Carolina School Boards Association. Also in 2004, she became the first African-American female to be elected to the Orange County Board of Commissioners and served as chair of that board from 2008-2010. The senator began her career in the NC General Assembly as a representative in 2012. Appointed to the NC Senate in 2013, she sought and won re-election in 2014. I met with Senator Foushee at her office in the legislative building, and I can assure you she keeps an open door and an attentive ear. Durham Tech has always been near and dear to her heart, and she served on our board from 2007-2014. Let’s give a warm, Durham Tech welcome to our senator, Valerie Foushee. Madame Chair and members of the Board of Trustees, Dr. Ingram and staff, graduates, family members, and friends, good afternoon. Thank you so much to Dr. Ingram and members of the board for inviting me here today to be a part of your commencement ceremony. Thank you Mr. Foreman for your visit and that kind introduction. It is indeed an honor to be here and to have the opportunity to celebrate such an important day with each and every one of you. Class of 2015, today is your day. It is your day to celebrate the hard work that you have put into a higher education. It is your day to celebrate the successes of your past and look forward to continued success in the future. But it is also a great day for the rest of us in this room as we stand beside you. It is a day for all of the parents and family members to celebrate all of the work that they have done to hold you up and to help you get to this stage that you’re about to walk across. Today is a day to celebrate the hard work and dedication that your professors have put into your education. Without their tireless efforts you would not be here today. And while I know right now I am the only thing standing between you and your degree, I am going to stand here just a bit longer in the hope that I can leave you with just a tiny bit more wisdom as you depart from this celebration and move on to your next adventure. And I promise I won’t keep you long because Dr. Ingram has said much of what I wish to say. But just two weeks ago I was at another graduation. Attending as a proud mother, my youngest son, after starting college, then serving in Americorp, then attending Durham Technical Community College, has now received his baccalaureate degree and is now poised to become a teacher. And while teaching is one of the noblest professions I can name, I must say that his decision caught us a bit off guard. Now my sun has always been a smart kid in my opinion, but a student not so much. He was more focused on athletics and worked hard to excel in athletics. He had a plan, and let me tell you, it did not include teaching. The plan was to best utilize his public education which, at that time, was focused on sports management to secure a challenging and rewarding profession, preferably as an agent and then to retire as a restaurant owner. And he was on that path, so he thought. But as many of you know, once you walk across this stage today, the next step is completely up to you. And for most of you what you do next may not yet be decided. And that’s o.k. because more than likely what you do next will not be what you will do forever. Just like my son, you may be walking across this stage with dreams of big business and monetary success on your mind. And with some more hard work and dedication, you can do those things. But like my son you may realize that right now you still have a great opportunity to continue learning, to continue exploring, and to begin giving back. Like my son you may decide that now is a great time to step back and give to your community. And with that decision you will continue to grow and to change and to become a better you. As a member of the General Assembly, I have chosen to directly dedicate my time to public service. And though surprised by his decision, I was so please to see my son finally find his calling in public service. Having spent several years now serving with youth programs and operating a teen center, he has found his passion. For he believes as I do that every person has the right to a free and sound public education. All of you are here today because of the hard work and dedication from many years of teachers, from K-12 all the way to those professors sitting here today. Proudly watching you enter into the next stage of your life. And so while we’re talking about them again, I want take this moment to applaud all those teachers who have helped you along the way. Make sure you thank them and continue thanking them, for without their stern lessons and their ever-stressful grading scales, you would not be here today. But as you cross this state today, you will no longer have them to guide you with their assignments and deadlines. To label your successes and failures with their grading scales. Now it is up to you to go forth and be great. And how do I know that you’ll be great? Because I believe as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said “Anyone can be great because everyone can serve.” Continue learning and also teaching where you can so others can learn from you. And wherever life takes you next, I hope that today, right here, I can instill in you one more lesson to always carry with you. One of my favorite woman to quote is Mary Wright Edelman who says that “Service is the rent we pay for being. It is the very purpose of life, and not something that you do in your spare time.” Now I’m not standing here and calling on each and every one of you to go forth and teach, or run for office. Though I do hope that at least a few of you will consider those things. What I really hope to relay through Dr. Edelman’s words goes a bit further. Service is neither something that you do in your spare time nor should it be something that you do out of obligation. And while today some of you may know what your grade point average or your class rank or you may be known for the honors that your receive or the ones that you don’t receive. Ten years from now nobody but you will even remember those numbers or those rankings. People will know you for who you are. And for the things you do. You will have the opportunity to leave a mark on the lives of others. Not with your words, but with your actions. It was not until 2008 that I received my degree from UNC. That was 11 years after first being elected to the Chapel Hill-Carrboro School Board of Education. And just before I ran for the second term on the commission. It was not easy getting there, but it was a day that I was proud of. And while I began my commitment to service long before that day, I was still honored to be presented with the opportunity to continue learning and growing and to go forward and to use my new knowledge for good. For truly knowledge is power. The education that you have received, that we are celebrating here today, is a great privilege. It is something that you have earned, but it is also something by which you will always be humble. For great education is something to respect and more than anything, to be thankful for. For this education will take you forward into life, will open doors that otherwise would no open, and will help you find paths that you may have otherwise overlooked. For all of you out there who are like my son planning on walking into careers that promise great financial opportunities, don’t discount those opportunities like Americorp and other service agencies. For who knows, your path may not be exactly what you think it’s going to be today. And for those of you unlike my son, that do indeed, and in fact, have great financial opportunities, don’t forget that you too must, and can, give back. You can go forward with a kind and giving heart. You can, in whatever role you find yourself in tomorrow or the next day or ten years from now, be a role model to those around you. You can be kind and compassionate and forgiving. You can set an example by who you are and how you act. Maya Angelou said “People may forget what you said, people may forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” So today as you celebrate all of the things you have accomplished, and you look forward to what the real world has in store for you next, I want you to keep the words of Mary Wright Edelman in mind. “Service is the rent we pay for being on this earth.” And regardless of what you do moving forward, be sure to keep this in your heart and your mind each and every day, for in everything you do you can and should find a way to give back with service. So congratulations, best wishes, and onward. Good afternoon. Mr. President, these students have met the academic requirements of their respective programs, and I present them as candidates for degrees, diplomas, and certificates. Will the candidates for the associate degree please stand. By virtue of the authority vested in me by the North Carolina State Board of Community Colleges and the Durham Technical Community College Board of Trustees, I confer upon you the degree of Associate in Applied Science, or the Associate in Arts, or the Associate in General Education, or the Associate in Science. Together with all the rights, privileges, and honors thereto appertaining. Please be seated. Associate degree students please come forward as your name is called. Students, to confirm your graduation, please switch your tassles from the right to the left. Graduates. Life is not a straight line between two points. But it is rather a path with twists and turns, obstacles and opportunities. Today you are better prepared than you have ever been to negotiate that path that now lies before you. To overcome those obstacles and to seize those opportunities And to realize a better future. Durham Technical Community College Class of 2015, go forth and do great things. For yourselves, and your families, and for our communities. Our state, our nation, and the world. Thank you. Graduates. Let this prayer bring to conclusion what you successfully began. As hopeful men and women seeking knowledge, truth, and a vision for your future. Let us pray. Gracious God, bless and guide and protect these graduating men and women from Durham Technical Community College. They give thanks to you. To their family and friends and to this, their community college for this great moment of accomplishment Have them go forth as living signs - proof that no problem is insurmountable. That our life together is meaningful and valuable and most important, that ultimate values and civic concerns not only can be found, but lived and cherished. Standing at such a moment, we pray in God's holy name. Amen.