CCRI awards degrees to more than 800 students
WARWICK –– On Thursday the Community College of Rhode Island conferred degrees to more than 800 beaming graduates at a packed Dunkin Donuts Center filled to the brim with proud families and friends. It is the first time in the college’s history that it has held the ceremony in a space quite this large.
This year the college distributed over 2,000 degrees and certificates to the members of the Class of 2018. CCRI President Meghan Hughes opened the ceremony with welcoming remarks, followed by greetings from Rhode Island Board of Education Chair Barbara S. Cottam and Rhode Island Board of Education Council on Postsecondary Education Chair William G. Foulkes.
“You represent a landmark class,” said Hughes. “Why? Today you graduate as the class with the highest graduation rate of any class at our college in 18 years.”
Hughes asked: how can you live a meaningful life?
“This is a question most commencements examine,” she said. “Today marks an important transition for every single one of you.”
Hughes spoke about the theory of positive psychology and offered three pieces of advice: don’t think, do; do what comes easy and imagine the end.
“Happiness is a skill,” she said. “That means we can learn it and we can develop it. It means we don’t have to accept the condition of how we were born as the final picture of how much happiness we can achieve. Positive psychology doesn’t teach you life is easy. It teaches us that we have some power and agency in building skills that can bring some happiness to our lives in spite of challenges.”
Hughes introduced student speaker Mariela Lucaj, a 21-year-old first generation college student and immigrant living in North Kingstown who graduated with a degree in nursing.
Lucaj came to the United States with her family and three siblings from Albania 16 years ago.
“Mariela is smart, she is a realistic,” said Hughes. “She is guided by a strong set of values and she leads with purpose.”
“When I was asked to write a speech, it was a lot harder than I thought because it comes with such great responsibility,” said Lucaj. “It’s standard for speakers to share their personal triumphs to inspire the graduating class. I could write about the time I almost dropped out because of a financial aid issue, or the many times I doubted myself as a nurse. My stories begin and end with the stories I have within all of you. It is your stories that have not only inspired me, but proven to me that true resilience is nowhere more prominent than with the students of CCRI.”
Lucaj will be continuing her education at the University of Rhode Island where she plans to continue studying nursing and eventually public health. This summer she plans to take her nursing board exam.
“The unspoken rule of immigrant families is keep your head down and work a job to make a decent living,” she said. “CCRI has given me the courage to consider the possibilities around me.”
She asked her classmates to trust their intuition and share their stories to inspire others.
“The idea of perseverance appears romantic only after you’ve overcome the obstacle,” she concluded.
In her greetings, Cottam told students that success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm.
“We need your skills, we need your enthusiasm and we need you,” said Cottam.
“Boldly follow your dreams and don’t let anything stand in your way, especially the fear of failure. Rhode Island is waiting for you.”
“CCRI was founded in a society and culture that is more accessible and understanding than other institutions,” said William Faulkes. “CCRI is wildly ambitious, if not audacious. It’s goal was and still is to provide access to advanced learning for all.”
Faulkes thanked the students for their contribution to the CCRI legacy.
The ceremony was opened by graduate Jasmine Monteiro. Class of 2018 graduates Michelle Legault and Nicole Rodrigues performed the National Anthem. Degrees were conferred by Rosemary A. Costigan and Hughes. Diplomas and certificates were presented by Steven Berrien, Interim Dean of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences; Thomas M. Sabbath, Dean of Business, Science, Technology and Math and Hilary Jansson, Dean of Health and Rehabilitative Services. Music was provided by the CCRI Jazz Ensemble. President Joseph T. Fleming ’74 welcomed the graduates into the Alumni Association.