College graduation season begins this weekend

It’s graduation time and area colleges will begin their annual rites of passage this Friday:

Shorter University will hold its spring commencement ceremony Friday at 10 a.m. at the Winthrop-King Centre on Shorter University’s Rome campus. Tickets are required for admission.

Attorney Phil Bettis will be the keynote speaker.

An author and frequent speaker on leadership and history, he is also an associate magistrate judge for Forsyth County.

Berry College will hold its undergraduate commencement Saturday at 9 a.m. on the Evans South Lawn. Rear Admiral Vincent L. Griffith, U.S. Navy Supply Corps and Berry class of 1981, will be the commencement speaker.

A ceremony for graduate students will take place Friday at 7 p.m. in the college chapel. Harbin Clinic’s Dr. Todd R. Kelley, who is himself graduating with an MBA from Berry, will be the speaker.

Georgia Highlands College’s commencement will be held May 13 at the Forum River Center in downtown Rome at 1 p.m.

GHC alumnus Joseph Johnson will give the commencement address, and Student Government Associate President Lucas Lester will speak on behalf of the student body.

Georgia Northwestern Technical College will hold its spring commencement May 18, at 7 p.m. in the Forum River Center in downtown Rome.

John Quinlivan, chief executive officer of Redmond Regional Medical Center, will be the keynote speaker.