RIRAL students heading in right direction
9 graduate from TTC program
WOONSOCKET — Michael Cunningham, dean of students at CCRI, had a message for nine graduates of RIRAL’s Transition to College (TTC) program in the Harris Public Library Community Room – just continue to do what they have been doing for the past six months while making education a priority.
“You have worked so hard,” Cunningham, guest speaker for the ceremony, said while commending the effort the group has put in to achieve admission to college through TTC. Many, if not all of the group, will start that next phase of their education at CCRI because of the time they spent with TTC teachers in RIRAL’s (Rhode Island Regional Adult Learning) 191 Social St. classrooms.
“You are the ones who have pushed through and come to TTC across the street for the past six months,” he said. “That shows, commitment and dedication and perseverance.
“You pushed through all the difficulties and I’m sure there were times when you didn’t want to continue but you didn’t stop.”
And because of their commitment, Cunningham said the students are now entitled to pursue their goal of continuing their education and looking to the next step.
But rather than just think about the next round of classes the students will face, Cunningham said he wanted the students to actually jump ahead and think about getting a “degree done.”
He encouraged them to think about graduating from college.
To help them focus on that goal, Cunningham brought along the gown and vestments he wears at CCRI graduations each year and invited a representative of the TTC graduates, Florangel Flynn of North Smithfield, to try them on.
Cunningham asked the TTC graduates to picture themselves wearing such an outfit as a couple of hundred CCRI professors and staff and over 5,000 family members and friends, watched them marching to collect their diplomas.
It is a goal that is within their reach, he said. “I’m not going to tell you it is going to be easy. There will be more classes to take and some are going to be hard, but the TTC class members have already shown that they can do it.
“It is going to take consistent effort and you already know about that,” Cunningham said.
And while true that it would require hard work, Cunningham said the students won’t have to go it alone and will have a range of resources to access that will help them through.
“You need to take charge of this and say this is what I am about and I am going to do what I need to do to get my diploma,” he said.
Marie Crecca-Romero, TTC program director, explained that students enrolling in TTC also enroll in a CCRI course at the same time. The reading class is required for admission to CCRI and doesn’t cost the students a tuition fee to take, she noted. And while visiting CCRI’s Lincoln campus for that course, the students continue work on RIRAL courses to help them complete the college’s Accuplacer test that will determine their future course work.
Sharon Pontarelli, a TTC instructor, said students not only learn how to be successful in college by maintaining good study habits but also gain the confidence they need to move forward on their college goal.
“They do well if they are able to put in the time to do the work,” she said. That is not a given for students who often have full-time jobs and families to support but the students graduating Thursday from TTC all found a way to adjust their lifestyles to meet the program’s requirements, she noted.
As she prepared to join RIRAL coordinator Jill Holloway in handing the TTC students their graduation certificates, Crecca-Romero noted that since it started in 2,000 the program has celebrated a list of graduation ceremonies for students going on to success in purs- ing a college education.
Of the latest group of graduates, she observed, “it certainly have been challenging but you all have succeeded.
“If you stay on track and take one step at a time, for sure, you will succeed in college,” she said.
As they stepped up to take their diplomas, several of the TTC students voiced praise for their teachers in the program and also noted their commitment to continue on to their next diploma.
“My journey is just starting,” Flynn said as the first one up. “This is my first step but I also have a dream and my dream starts today,” she said. “I am going to do everything I need to accomplish my goals and get my degree.”
Adeimineker Gomes said he wished to thank the TTC staff for the “opportunities” they have given him. “I got to where I wanted to be and I am going to continue to push myself to get up there in life,” he said.