Gateway to College graduates celebrate their milestones at a drive-in ceremony
Friends and familymembers honked their horns and cheered as the 23 graduates of Montgomery County Community College’s Gateway to College Program received their high school diplomas on Oct. 2 in the Morris Road parking lot at MCCC’s Blue Bell Campus.
Usually held at the end of the spring semester, the Gateway ceremony was postponed and then transformed into a drive-in event due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the changes, the graduates had smiles on their faces and felt a sense of achievement as they each walked onto the stage.
The graduates are Donovan Avery, North PennHigh School; McKenna Benner, Cheltenham High School; Eve Bertram, Wissahickon High School; Jayden Del’marmol, Pottsgrove High School; Ali Eskandary, Colonial Penn High School; Aidan Gilly, Perkiomen Valley High School; Tatiana Golovca, Wissahickon; Dezjah Harriott, Perkiomen Valley; Jasmine Irizarry, Wissahickon; Nadia Jones, Pottsgrove; Robert McKnight, Phoenixville High School; William Moser, Upper Merion High School; Maximo Palestino, Pottsgrove; Desirae Pettigrew, Wissahickon; Desiree Purdie, Wissahickon; Jessica Roberson, Jenkintown High School; Ryan Romig, Hatboro-Horsham; Savannah Salguero, Daniel Boone High School; Lauren Sickel, Pottsgrove; Anthony Venuto, Wissahickon; Cecret Waters, Upper Moreland; Alexander Welliver,
Souderton; and Devon Yost, Wissahickon.
Eskandary was named the class Valedictorian. He currently is enrolled at Temple University where he is studying Computer Science.
As part of the Achieving the Dream national network that promotes community college reform and student success, Gateway to College and its dedicated faculty and staff help students stay on track to complete the requirements they need for their high school graduation and earn college credits. Since MCCC launched the program in 2013 at its Blue Bell and Pot tstown campuses, more than 200 students have earned their high school diplomas. Many students continue taking classes at MCCC.
MCCC’s Gateway Program is one of only two programs in Pennsylvania and is among 31 national programs in 19 states across the country.
During the ceremony, Dr. Keima Sheriff, Assistant Dean of Student Programs, described how the program, school district and community partners, faculty and staff and family members were all part of a “conspiracy of completion” to hold the students accountable to their goals and not let them give up on themselves.
“You have the power to decide what you want to do and to create the life you want to live,” Sheriff told the graduates. “Barriers may slow you down a bit, but they will not stop you from your goal attainment.”
Nineteen school districts – Boyertown, Cheltenham, Colonial, Daniel Boone, Exeter, HatboroHorsham, Jenkintown, Norristown, North Penn, Owen J. Roberts, Perkiomen Valley, Phoenixville, Pottsgrove, Souderton, Upper Dublin, Upper Merion, Upper Moreland, Upper Perkiomen and Wissahickon – and Montco Works Now, the County’s workforce investment board, collaborate with MCCC, referring students to the program.