MCC Confers Degrees and Certificates to the Class of 2023 in 59th Commencement Exercises
MANCHESTER, Conn. (May 25, 2024) – Manchester Community College today conferred 667 degrees and certificates to the Class of 2023. These were awarded to 630 individual graduates at the 59th annual commencement ceremony held this afternoon, Thursday, May 25.
Graduates from 84 towns in Connecticut, as well as Florida, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina and Vermont, were awarded associate in science degrees, associate in arts degrees and certificates. The youngest Class of 2023 graduate is 17 years old and the oldest is 75. Honors graduates include 121 cum laude, 78 magna cum laude and 29 summa cum laude.
The program areas with the largest number of graduates included business and accounting, general studies and liberal arts, and health careers. Nearly 100 students graduated from CSCU Pathway Transfer programs, insuring them junior status at the four Connecticut State Universities and Charter Oak State College.
Jessica Sasser, of Columbia, CT was named valedictorian of the Class of 23. The salutatorian is Tammy Silakowski, of Longmeadow, MA.
The two are also recipients of the Board of Regents Medallion for Academic Excellence. The Board of Regents Medallion is awarded at each of the 12 community colleges to graduating students who have earned perfect 4.0s and who have completed at least half of their requirements at the college where the degree is being awarded. MCC Class of 2023 recipients of the Board of Regents Medallion also include Kristina Caruso, of Hartford, and Mykenzie Mawdsley, of Andover. All are also graduating summa cum laude.
Valedictorian Jessica Sasser told her classmates, “As you enter this next phase I would encourage you to take those leaps of faith and remember to be patient with yourself. There is a term I heard over the weekend that really resonated with me, it was aggressive patience. . . When we have goals and dreams sometimes we want them to come to fruition instantly. But to be aggressively patient we must put in the work, day in and day out. We must remind ourselves why we are here, why we are working 2 or 3 jobs, why we study at midnight after the kids have gone to bed, why we are applying to dozens of jobs even when we get continue to get turned down. In the end it is the dedication, commitment, and perseverance that you put in during the phase of uncertainty or aggressive patience that makes your end goal the most fulfilling.”
Commencement speaker Spencer Garrett is a third-generation actor/director/producer whose career spans 30 years in film, television and theatre. The son and grandson of actors – Spencer had performing in his blood since childhood. His films include but are not limited to Public Enemies, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Air Force One, Charlie Wilson’s War, Thank You for Smoking, The Way, Iron Man 3 and Blonde. This summer he is in production on The Residence, a White House ‘whodunit’ for Netflix that will air in December 2023. He currently stars as legendary Lakers broadcaster ‘Chick’ Hearn in HBO’s Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty.
In his remarks to the graduates, Garrett said, “This is one of the most important days in your life because of what it represents. The commitment and sacrifices you made – and your families made – to better your future should be acknowledged and celebrated.” He continued, “I stand here today and thank goodness that a new generation of leaders, and thinkers, and doers, and dreamers will make their way out into the world and spread some light and joy and leadership to a world that needs your love and attention.”
Regent Sophia Jappinen awarded an Associate in Human Letters, Honoris Causa degree to Ocean Vuong in absentia. Vuong is the author of The New York Times bestselling poetry collection, Time is a Mother, and The New York Times bestselling novel, On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous, which has been translated into 37 languages. A recipient of a 2019 MacArthur “Genius” Grant, he is also the author of the critically acclaimed poetry collection, Night Sky with Exit Wounds, a New York Times Top 10 Book of 2016, and the winner of numerous poetry and literature prizes. His honors also include fellowships from renowned foundations that support the arts. Born in Saigon, Vietnam and raised in Hartford in a working class family of nail salon and factory laborers, he attended MCC before transferring to Pace University. Without completing his first term, he dropped out and enrolled at Brooklyn College, where he graduated with a BA in nineteenth-century American literature; he subsequently received his MFA in poetry from NYU. He is tenured Professor in the Creative Writing MFA Program at NYU.
Read more about this year’s commencement.
About MCC
Students of any age who possess the desire to pursue higher education are welcome at Manchester Community College. MCC is proud of its academic excellence, flexible schedules, small classes, low tuition and faculty with both academic and “real world” credentials. The college offers over 80 degree and certificate programs, transfer options, financial aid and scholarships, as well as access to baccalaureate degrees through CSCU Transfer Tickets and guaranteed admissions programs with several universities. The park-like campus, which is easily accessible from I-84, is also the home of Great Path Academy, a middle college high school, serving grades 9-12.
Becoming CT State
The 12 Connecticut community colleges are merging in July 2023 to become CT State Community College, one of the largest community colleges in the country and largest in New England, dedicated to quality, access and affordability. CT State students will be able to apply once and take classes at any campus, and receive services across the state. In addition to Manchester, other locations include Asnuntuck (Enfield), Capital (Hartford), Gateway (New Haven), Housatonic (Bridgeport), Manchester, Middlesex (Middletown and Meriden), Naugatuck Valley (Waterbury and Danbury), Northwestern (Winsted), Norwalk, Quinebaug Valley (Danielson and Willimantic), Three Rivers (Norwich), and Tunxis (Farmington) Community Colleges.
