Montgomery County Community College hosts 52nd commencement

A total of 1,404 students graduated during Blue Bell ceremony

BLUE BELL >> Montgomery County Community College celebrated its 52nd Commencement on Thursday, May 16, during a special ceremony held at its Central Campus in Blue Bell.

“All of us at Montgomery County Community College are committed to the success of our students — it is the core of our mission. It’s what we do,” MCCC President Kevin Pollock said during the ceremony. “Standing at 1,404 graduates who collectively earned 1,417 degrees and certificates, the Class of 2019 is proof of our commitment.”

The class, ranging in age from 18 to 69 years, includes 91 Municipal Police Academy graduates, 44 veterans/active military personnel, 29 Culinary Arts Institute graduates, and 26 international graduates. Fourteen students graduated from the Honors Program, 256 graduates are members of the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society and three graduates are members of Mu Alpha Theta, the math honor society. Forty graduates have a 4.0 GPA and 670 students graduated with honors.

MCCC Board of Trustees Chairman Frank X. Custer congratulated the graduates and encouraged them to continue the next steps in their journey.

“Tonight marks a wonderful milestone for all of you, but it is not an end. That is why this is called a commencement – a beginning,” Custer said. “Your stories will have many more chapters, and I hope that all of us have played at least a small part in giving you the tools to write chapters filled with accomplishment and happiness.”

This year’s Commencement

Speaker was MCCC’s Vice President of Information Technology and Chief Digital Officer Celeste M. Schwartz of Ambler. A graduate of MCCC, Schwartz is beginning the 50th year of her career at the College, starting in the data processing department and working her way up to her current position.

Along the way, she continued her education, earning a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Saint Joseph’s University, a master’s degree in Computer Science from Villanova University, and a Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration from Walden University. In addition, she taught Computer Science classes as a part-time instructor at MCCC for more than 20 years.

In 2018, Schwartz received the national EDUCAUSE Leadership Award, which recognizes exemplary leadership that has a significant impact on advancing information technology in higher education. Schwartz is one of only three community college leaders in the country to receive this award. Locally, she was honored with the 2018 Growth Award at the Women’s Lifestyle Conference as an inspirational achiever in her profession. In 2002, she was inducted into the college’s Alumni Hall of Fame.

During her speech, Schwartz talked about the important role of mentors in her life and how she, in turn, mentored students, employees and colleagues. At the end of her speech, she asked the graduates to take a moment to think about the people who helped them reach their goals and to thank them with a text or tweet.

“When you leave this evening’s ceremony, I hope you carry with you the message that you have the power to positively impact the lives of others — one individual at a time,” said Schwartz, encouraging the Class of 2019 to reach out and help others.

This year’s Student Commencement Speaker was Logan Brianne Harrison, a Human Services major from Pottstown. She spoke about her experience at MCCC, which started with the Gateway to College Program — a program for high school students who are at risk of not graduating.

“Once I learned what I was capable of, I wanted more for myself,” said Logan, who had some health concerns and fell behind in high school. “I turned my grades from D’s to A’s and graduated early from high school with awards, a high GPA and a strong support system.”

She then continued her studies at MCCC, while working two part-time jobs and volunteering with a local non-profit organization, In Ian’s Boots. Her plans include continuing her education at Chestnut Hill College and working in a career field where she can help others.

During the ceremony, MCCC’s Vice President of Academic Affairs and Provost Vicki Bastecki-Perez presented the 2019 Christian R. and Mary F. Lindback Foundation Award for Teaching Excellence to Assistant Professor of Accounting Heather Thomas for her exceptional teaching. Accounting Senior Lecturer Frank Bucci and Exercise Science and Wellness Senior Lecturer Michelle Donovan received the PartTime Faculty Teaching Excellence Awards in recognition of their work and dedication.

In celebration of her 50 years of dedication to students and their success, MCCC’s Foundation created the Dr. Celeste M. Schwartz Legacy Fund for student scholarships in STEAM — Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics. For more information and to make a donation, visit www.mc3.edu/legacyfund.

List of 2019 graduates Abington: Carlos Avia, Kandis Brown, Geselle Cardoso-Rojas, Jared Claybrook, Ian Dockstader, Miles Dutton, Zachary Farrell, Carolyn Feeney, Marianne Heath, Colleen Hunter, Gena Jean, Albert Jombe, Joseph Kalinoski, Jennifer Kingsberry, Ashley Melvin, Maura Nolan, Rebecca O’Neill, Tim Pham, Matthew Renner, Rosolin Singletary, Jacine Wright-Boykin

Ambler: Sina Abbasi Kammasai, Charles Adams, Joshua Bag, Kiana Basta, Michael Bissig, Renee Blatt, Antoinette Bresadola, Erica Bush, Colleen Cameron, Jessica Carroll, Angad Channey, Ethan Drakely, Heather Earlin, Jennifer Gamboa, Andrew Guarnaccia, Amanda Gullo, Stephen Hamberg, Eunsung Han, Ashleigh Jensen, Julie Kelly, Kenneth Lassiter, Kaylin Miska, Logan Moloshok, Jennifer Moon, Evan Morgan, Viet Nguyen, Adam Oehrle, Eugene Park, Mimi Petrova, Catherine Quiroz, Marcus Ramsey, J. Blake Remley, Clarice Schillinger, Maggie Simon, Amy Spitko, Caitlyn Thompson, Terry Tuckey, Shivam Verma

Ardmore: Lovena Bentley, Sanita Carter, Cheryl Jones, Steven Scimeca Ardsley: Kelly Brennan Arlington: Hannah Fritchman

Atglen: Ryan Wellcome Audubon: Rosanna Avraham, Jeffrey Bacon, Bradley Costa, David Hagner, Michael Karminski, Delaney Miller, Jaime Minnick, Morgan Perry, James Quigg, Cooper Reichwein, Tyrone Tillman, Trevor Varano

Bala Cynwyd: Jordyn Ehrich, Manase Viglietta Bangor: Alexa McMaster Barto: Julie Howell, Conner Leap, Jonathan Melchior, Melissa Meyer, Christa Sheldon, Jonathan Strobel, Angelos Vardaxis, Ourania Cardaxis, Alicia White

Bechtelsville: Brian Mihalcik, Anna Minnicks

Belmont Hills: Daniel Hudecki

Bensalem: Shannon Gleason

Bessmer: Matthew Green Birdsboro: Kyle Benjamin, Brandon Hultz, Colin Miller, Alexander Olenginski

Blue Bell: Rachel Aubrey, Caesar Belchez, Robert Boehme, Lorraine Byer, Helen Cho, Leon Clemmer, Michael Daulerio, Martin Delaney, Jeremiah Diaz, Lynn Foley, Yeogyeong Gim, Janine Hall, Sebastian Hollabaugh, Theresa Jun, Brian Kashon, Roula Khaldi, Dongjoon Kim, Siwon Kim, Samantha KimBrophy, Ashley McGrogan, Tinesha Moore, Rebecca Saunders, Brittany Trznadel, Scott Weinfeld, Juae Yuh, Rebecca Zimmerman

Boyertown: Brandon Beck, Ashley Bender, Jonathan Goncus, Heather Graber, Kelly Gracely, David Kreis, Nicole Lott, Kaitlyn Mancini, Danielle Saviello, Sara Shaeffer, Kyra Sickler, Friedrich Specht, Zachary Wedemeyer, Zachary Weisel, Paul Zaharia

Brentwood: Alexis Blackshear

Bridgeport: Andrea Betancourt, Kaitlin Brennan, Hope Daniel, Yasmin Gant, Jessica Grossmiller, Amy Groves, Patricia Hart, Brandon Schlesman, Marina Wassef Brigantine: Grace Emig Broad Axe: Angela Lutz Brooklyn: Philippe Lespinasse

Broomall: James Martin Bryn Mawr: Jackson Apicelli, Richard Hammond

Center Valley: Jason Knier

Chalfont: Sophia Bilotta, Jeffrey Boesch, James Burton, Jennafer Clark

Cheltenham: Joseph Bennett, Dorothea Bowen, Brian De Rivera, Larry Ellis, Megan Ellis, Stephanie Hill, Khalid Hoummadi, Kristina Koutsouros, Isabel Loyola, Melissa Martinez, Jennifer Nguyen, Ezinne Ottih, Loymi Peralta, Jade Simpler, Cailtin Wallace

Chester Springs: Zane Fasel, Tamar Haut, Nicholas Tummillo

Coatesville: Adam Cohen, Keslie Hetzel-Castro

College Park: Lola Christie

Collegeville: Victoria Adams, Nathan Allebach, Naira Bakar, Andrew Brewer, Kathleen Bullen, Alexandra Carr, Stephanie Colucci, Cheryl Cortes, Aidan Deangeles, Russell Doughty, Morgan Ernst, Julia Gallagher, Bryan Gonzalez Moyano, Richard Gramm, Adrian Grow, Benjamin Higley, Riley Himes, Aliaksandr Hladkou, Lynn Ho, Gaspare Interrante, Matthew Kehm, Rebecca Knight, Erica Leinhauser, Andrew Lesinski, Jennifer Lou, Jessica Mandik, Matthew Mikesic, Maria Goretti Osei-Bonsu, Bret Perry, Chelsea Ramage, Naveen Ramanjulu, Casimir Rankowski, Quinton Rusinski, Rose Schmiedicke, Kyle Skelly, Shane Staret, Natalia Toscano, Courtney Waslo, Nicholas Waslo, Mitchell Weber, Raymond Weber, Maria Woyden, Binli Wu, Jeffrey Wynne, Jessica Zuczek

Colmar: Tyler Dietterich, Anthony Keo, Brenda Krissinger, Melissa Krissinger, Debbie Nguyen, Katherine O’Brien, Jennifer Walton, Whitney Williams, Cassandra Witner

Conshohocken: Ny’elle Arrieta, Estefany Bissell, Emily Bohner, Kristina Brooks, Fiona Cardamone, Jeovana Ibarra, Kanikah Jones, Jessica Lawder, Jason Mallon, Kathryn McArthur, Hisham Mohammed, Samir Panah, Zamir Panah, David Seidenberg, Steven Solis, Stephanie Tammany, Akilah Williams Coopersburg: Britt Tagg Coudersport: Patricia Jones

Creamery: Timothy Nestor

Croydon: Kayla Lux Darby: Adejoke Agboola Denver: Michael Morris Douglassville: Alyssa Cuesta, Kayla Garreaud, Joseph Gibson, Allison Skinner, Maureen Sullivan, Kimberly Trois

Dover: Holly Spencer Downingtown: Lisa Moloney, Olivia Slupski

Doylestown: Theresa Durkin, Carine Stuart

Dresher: Daniel Aquino, Kayla Cobette, Matthew Cozen, Daniel Miller, Kathryn O’Donnell, Andrew Wirstiuk

Drexel Hill: Megan Parker Dublin: Sarah Bauer Eagleville: Ashley Allen, Deborah Barnett, Antonio Chiaravalloti, Shayla Fornal, Crystal Lee-Patchett, Hummad Mirza, Elizabeth Perez, Isabella Rivard, Kelsey Rivera, Sam Tat, Tosha Taylor

East Greenville: Alisa Blevins, Jacquelyne Bohn, Noah Dimarcello, Marisa Highlands, Dylan Hurrey, Rebecca Klaumenzer, Alex Motto

East Norriton: Amira Abdul-Rashid, John Andreoni, Ma’lissa Blair, Rebecca Hoover, Austin Ignas, Brianna Kelley, Monica Losota, Elseba Nyagwegwe, Raj Rawal, Nia Smith, James Wayne, Hazel Zook

Elkins Park: Andrea Bestul, Autumn Blakeney, Hathaichanok Chanklang, Autumn Costanzo, Milan Davis, Terrae Fortune, Briane Freeman, Grant Heath, Melody Heath, Kayla Henschel, John LauderdaleSmith, Jekeniah Leonard, Joyce Mais, Sharon Overton, Meriel Schutkofsky, Shamell Slade

Elverson: Nicholas Malcom, Charles Panos, Jerod Silva

PHOTO BY MATTHEW WRIGHT Montgomery County Community College graduates are all smiles as they anticipate receiving their diplomas.

DAVID DEBALKO PHOTOGRAPHY MCCC’s Class of 2019, ranging in age from 18 to 69 years, includes 91 Municipal Police Academy graduates, 44 veterans/active military personnel, 29 Culinary Arts Institute graduates, and 26 international graduates.