There are few moments, as a higher education professional, that are as gratifying as commencement. This spring, we are pleased to hold a pandemic-style commencement for our Class of 2021, with an invitation also extended to the Class of 2020. What a journey theirs has been! They deserve all the recognition and accolades for working through a pandemic to achieve their first postsecondary degree.
For our students, commencement is the culmination of years of hard work, of all-nighters, of long evenings at the library, of ramen noodles, of juggling work and college, and of sacrifices made by the families of those crossing the stage to receive their diploma.
Our students are diverse. They are early entrants that started with us while still in high school or who skipped high school to begin their college careers. They are young people who may have taken a gap year or two before continuing their education.
Our students and graduates are mothers returning to accomplish a dream that they long held. They are fathers who may have lost their jobs and realized that a college degree would give them the career mobility that they need. They are veterans who have nobly served our country. They are immigrants in search of a brighter future in a new land. Regardless of their lived experiences, Greenfield Community College is where their journey led them.
Our graduates will soon face a new world, post-pandemic. We have equipped them with the knowledge, skills and dispositions to help them thrive, to adapt, and reinvent themselves as the external contexts around them evolve.
One of the values of a liberal arts-based education is that it empowers students with inquiry, creative problem-solving, communication, critical thinking and intercultural knowledge and skills that are foundational for any career and for engaged citizenship.
At GCC, we take pride in preparing students for their chosen career and to be the leaders and citizens that our community need. When we revised our vision for the College last year, we were sure to center that aspiration. As a college, we want “to be an agent for a more equitable, just, vibrant and resilient world through education.”
With multiple small, socially-distanced ceremonies that will go on all day, we plan on honoring each one of our graduates on June 5. For families, we will livestream the event so that you are able to safely experience every minute of the ceremony and the moment when your loved one receives their diploma.
Yes, let us celebrate spring and the incredible accomplishments of our soon-to-be newly-minted graduates!
Salomon-Fernández is president of Greenfield Community College.