Degrees and Certificates Awarded at Three Rivers Community College Commencement
Friends and families packed the campus green to cheer on the Three Rivers Community College graduates at the 54th annual Commencement on Wednesday, May 22. 563 students earned a total of 517 associate degrees and 78 certificates. Five students earned two degrees, 26 earned both a degree and certificates, and one student earned a Medallion for Academic Excellence, which is achieved by maintaining a 4.0 grade point average.
Frederick-Douglass Knowles II, Hartford Poet Laureate and associate professor at Three Rivers, reflected on his childhood, growing up across the street from where Three Rivers now stands as well as the impact his grandmother made on the community. He urged graduates to use their education to “cultivate your community.” He went on to say, “many of you will further your studies to obtain a bachelors, masters and Ph.D. in your field of expertise. Accumulate these tools to ensure that your community continues to thrive. It will be a demanding life-altering vision that some of you may be fearful of embracing, but how else will we Batman the Banes of our society. How else will we cure our country? Graduates, amalgamate the tools of higher learning with the higher frequency of love to teach this country how to no longer function in fear. Cultivate your community like it was your own Garden of Eden.”
Richard Balducci spoke on behalf of the Connecticut Board of Regents for Higher Education, stressing that students should be proud of their accomplishment, and that “you make the Board of Regents proud, you make the College proud, you make the state proud and you make the country proud.”
Addressing the graduates, President Mary Ellen Jukoski said, “This is your day to celebrate your commitment to learning, and your perseverance that make this day possible. … I hope that Three Rivers Community college has been a place that, having ignited your love of knowledge, will cause you to be a lifelong learner, a place that instilled in you the desire to strive for excellence academically, personally, and professionally, and, a place where the relationships you developed will lead to lasting friendships.” She also highlighted the stories of different graduates and the varied paths that brought them to the campus green that day.
The Valedictorian, Michelle Reynolds, who received the Medallion for Academic Excellence, delivered the Student Graduate Address. She thanked her fellow students for their support, saying, “the patience and humility of my fellow students, the encouragement of the professors and tutors, the sense of community you get as you stroll through the halls here, have all impacted me and all of us, in such a powerful way. It is because of all of you that I am here today. … Today, we’re all valedictorians.”
The Commencement Exercises also included a faculty address from Professor Michael Carta. William Stanley, Vice President of Development and Community Relations for L+M Hospital/Yale New Haven Health, received an honorary degree, and Lottie B. Scott, author and community activist, was awarded the Distinguished Community Service Award.
Students graduated from programs including Liberal Arts & Sciences, General Engineering Technology, Accounting, Visual Fine Arts, Nursing, Early Childhood Education, Hospitality Management, Nuclear Engineering Technology, Sports and Leisure Management, Manufacturing Engineering Technology, Human Services.
List of graduates who earned degrees, ordered by last name.
List of graduates who earned certificates, ordered by last name.
READ MOREGet the Training You Need for a New Career at Three Rivers Community College
Looking for a new career? Three Rivers Community College is offering two courses this June that will give you the training you need to become a qualified Pharmacy Technician or Security Officer. This is a great opportunity for those interested in changing career paths.
Pharmacy Technician – This comprehensive 60-hour course will prepare students to enter the pharmacy field as a pharmacy technician where they will work under the supervision of a registered pharmacist at pharmacies in hospitals, clinics, retail pharmacies, and other facilities. The course prepares students to take the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board’s exam, which is included in the cost.
Classes are held Tuesdays and Thursdays from June 11 through August 20. The registration deadline is June 6. The course is WIOA and SNAP eligible. Learn more at threerivers.edu/pharmacy.
Security Officer Training: Guard Card Certification – This eight-hour long course is required by the state of Connecticut for employment as a security officer. Security officers are responsible for maintaining safe and secure environments, and job duties include securing premises and personnel by patrolling property, monitoring surveillance equipment, inspecting buildings, and more. Students will take the state certification exam and must receive a 70% or better passing score to be eligible to receive the Security Officer Identification Card, which is an additional fee.
The course will be held Mondays and Wednesdays, June 17 through June 26. The deadline to register is June 10. The course is WIOA and SNAP eligible.
For more information and to register for these classes, call 860-215-9902.
READ MOREThree Rivers Pinning Ceremony Celebrates 34 Nursing Students
On Thursday, May 23, Three Rivers Community College held the fifty-third Nursing Pinning Ceremony. During the ceremony, 34 nursing students of the Class of Spring 2019 received their nursing pin, marking the completion of their nursing degree and serving as a symbol of their readiness to be compassionate professional caregivers.
Faculty and administration spoke to the students, admiring the hard work and determination that brought them to this point. Their class advisor, Assistant Professor Cheryl Gilot, acknowledged their efforts saying, “Their journey into nursing has entailed huge amounts of hard work, countless sacrifices for them. They will see and experience more than they can ever imagine. They will have the privilege of caring for others at a difficult time in their lives. They will at times be the leading source of hope, compassion and care.” She went on to urge the nursing graduates to “always remember the power of truly being present with those in your care and instill hope to those in need.”
The keynote speaker was John Brady, a 1999 Three Rivers nursing graduate. After working for years as a Certified Emergency Nurse, he is now the Vice President of AFT Connecticut. Brady encouraged the students and urged them to “take care of each other while advocating for your patients.” Rachael Houle, Class President and Class Speaker, told her classmates “we are nurses now and no matter the area of practice or education, we are connected by an inherent ability to help people. This program has given you the knowledge and skills, but you brought the drive.” A candlelight recitation of the Nurse’s Nightingale Pledge came after the presentation of the students’ nursing pins.
The students have earned an Associate of Science in Nursing. Upon completion of a licensing examination, the graduates will have earned the credential of Registered Nurse (RN).
Three Rivers graduates’ scores on the National Council Licensing Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN) are consistently above the national average, with a three-year average of over 93%. Graduates also report a 99% job placement on the last three graduate surveys.
List of Nursing Graduates with their towns
Jamie Arroyo, Jewett City, CT
Sherieffa Bailey, Hartford, CT
Andrea Bergeson, Baltic, CT
Rachel Bissonette, Coventry, CT
Ma Clarice Boardman, Groton, CT
Zaha Bush, Salem, CT
Carley Cann, Groton, CT
Katie Caruso, Lebanon, CT
Ashley Cote, East Killingly, CT
Yosha Dhungana, New London, CT
Beth Falcone, Mystic, CT
Kylie Flanagan, Amston, CT
Rachel Greiner, Griswold, CT
Jonathan Hall, Woodstock, CT
Jessie Hatfield, Uncasville, CT
Rachael Houle, Danielson, CT
Melissa Hubert, Brooklyn, CT
Maricar Knowles, Oakdale, CT
Jennifer Lemieux, North Grosvenordale, CT
Angela Narducci, Higganum, CT
Julia O’Connor, Amston, CT
Ikenna Okechukwu, Manchester, CT
Emily O’Rourke, Pawcatuck, CT
Hannah Phelps, Brooklyn, CT
Michelle Quiles, East Hartford, CT
Christine Reed, Groton, CT
Gregory Rezendes, Ledyard, CT
Elizabeth Rose, Pawcatuck, CT
Clara Smith, Middletown, CT
Nicole Stevens, Niantic, CT
Morgan Turner, Griswold, CT
Melissa Tuthill, Norwich, CT
Alexis Williams, Plainfield, CT
Macy Zadora, Griswold, CT
READ MOREIn the News | Three Rivers graduates ‘reach their goal’
Norwich, Connecticut (The Day, May 22, 2019)— Elise Sperry of Waterford put things in reverse Wednesday, when she walked among the 563 graduates receiving degrees and certificates from Three Rivers Community College.
Frederick-Douglas Knowles II kisses his granddaughter Emerie Saige Thompson, 1, being held by his daughter Lanaisha Rodriguez after delivering his commencement address during Three Rivers Community College’s Commencement on Wednesday, May 22, 2019, at the school in Norwich. Over 550 students were awarded various degrees and certificates during the ceremony. (Sarah Gordon/The Day)
Sperry, 17, won’t graduate from high school until June 11 at the Three Rivers Middle College Magnet High School on the same campus. She has navigated the worlds of both high school and college for the past two years, earning an associate degree in liberal arts at the community college, while also serving as president of the group, Student Advocates for Gender Equality, and a member of the college Performing Arts group, Voices of the River.
Sperry also volunteered extensively in the community, at schools, convalescent homes, homeless shelters and animal rescue programs. She’s not done with double-dipping. She earned a full scholarship to continue her education at the University of Connecticut, where she plans a double major in geography and human rights. After that, she plans to obtain a master’s degree in public health and continue with a career in academic research.
Sperry said she was “definitely busy” and admitted to being exhausted at times, but the former fencer at Waterford High School said she has learned how to juggle a tough schedule.
“It’s actually easier to balance if you’re good at time management,” she said.
Sperry was one of several students Three Rivers Community College President Mary Ellen Jukoski highlighted Wednesday in her address to graduates, asking each of those named to stand to be recognized. She then turned to more general accomplishments, asking graduates to stand if they had to work their way through school, raise a family while attending school, or were the first in their families to graduate from college.
Few remained seated through her list.
“You chose to enroll at Three Rivers for its quality education and its affordability,” Jukoski said. “You walked the halls of this fine institution, studied in the library, attended classes with your peers and our faculty. You did all of this to reach your goal, to graduate.”
Then Jukoski asked the graduates to stand, turn around and “salute your faithful supporters and enthusiastic cheerleaders.”
Thomas and Mary Baudro of Gales Ferry didn’t have to strain to find their support network. The married couple were Three Rivers’ oldest graduates Wednesday and have been married for 45 years.
Mary Baudro collected her first college degree Wednesday, graduating Three Rivers magna cum laude with an associate degree in visual fine arts. But Tom Baudro is a pro at these ceremonies, having received three associate degrees and three certificates from Three Rivers since 2009 in architectural studies, drafting and design, and a bachelor’s degree in general studies from UConn.
“He hasn’t missed a semester in 17 years,” Mary Baudro said of her husband.
Tom Baudro, a designer at Dufrane Nuclear in Winsted, will enroll again at Three Rivers in the fall for a geographic information system class, which he said will help in his position as a member of the Ledyard Planning and Zoning Commission.
Mary Baudro said she has been a “full-time homemaker, mother and grandmother” most of her life. In 2014, she was checking out the Three Rivers website and meant to sign up for an assessment of prior learning, “and my finger slipped.” She connected with the fine arts degree program, and never went back.
One of her paintings was selected for the Three Rivers art show at the Slater Memorial Museum in Norwich. She said she got the itch to enroll at Three Rivers in the past while her husband was working on his degrees, but she was always too busy at home.
Now, she said, “I want to paint for fun.” She earned a scholarship for a free class at Three Rivers, and will take a history class this summer, and next year, she will enroll for a general studies degree.
Attending Three Rivers now runs in the Baudro family. Mary said she had a couple of classes with her granddaughter, Lillie Kuhn, a current Three Rivers student.
Jukoski touched on the many varied journeys students have made to reach Three Rivers and Wednesday’s graduation day. Jogaintz Ledoux of New London arrived in the United States from Haiti as a boy. Ledoux on Wednesday earned an associate degree in mechanical engineering technology, and will work as a full-time employee of Pratt & Whitney, where he was a summer intern. He will participate in a program at Pratt that will pay for his bachelor’s degree once he has worked there for a year.
“Yet today, her dedication and perseverance enabled her to graduate magna cum laude in nursing,” Jukoski said, “while helping the homeless and volunteering in the medical reserve corps and Uncas Health District. … She aspires to be a great nurse.”
While many Three Rivers graduates came from homes far away to attend the community college, keynote speaker Frederick-Douglass Knowles II, poet laureate of Hartford and an associate professor of English at Three Rivers, grew up in the neighborhoods surrounding the school.
His grandmother Martha Montgomery moved to Norwich in 1940, and established herself as an active volunteer, member of the NAACP, delivering meals on wheels and active in many civic ventures. In 1980, she purchased the house at 575 New London Turnpike — directly across from Three Rivers’ current campus.
But instead of being welcomed, the family on the very first night in their new home frantically threw buckets of water at a burning cross on their front lawn, with an attempted message that “this is not your neighborhood.” Instead, Knowles said, his grandmother cultivated that land with fruit trees, a flower garden and vegetable garden, and now 110 grandchildren, great-grandchildren, great-great-grandchildren and great-great-great-grandchildren. Montgomery died two years ago at age 102, and Thursday would have been her birthday, Knowles said.
“Graduates, you are my community,” Knowles said. “Like you, I sat in these same seats and received my associate degree from this institution. Homage is the purpose of community. So I ask you, graduates, what is your purpose? How will you pay homage to your community?”
Class valedictorian Michelle Reynolds of Ledyard, who received her associate degree in graphic arts with a perfect 4.0 grade point average that earned her the Medallion for Academic Excellence, thanked her classmates and many professors who pushed her to achieve and made her feel comfortable despite her being 10 years older than most of her classmates and unfamiliar with things like Google Drive or memes.
“Today,” she said, “we are all valedictorians.”
The original article can be found here: ‘Three Rivers graduates ‘reach their goal’’
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| Three Rivers Community College Commencement |
In the News | Three Rivers grads urged to ‘cultivate your community’
Norwich, Connecticut (Norwich Bulletin, May 22, 2019) — Commencement speaker Frederick-Douglas Knowles II urged Three Rivers Community College graduates to “cultivate your community” by using their new educations to make where they live better places.
Almost 600 graduates received associate degrees and certificates at the college’s 54th commencement exercises on Wednesday.
Hundreds more family members and friends cheered them on at the ceremony held at the New London Turnpike college’s campus.
Graduate Lisa Holliday, of Griswold, points to her family and her favorite professor Wednesday at the 54th Commencement for Three Rivers Community College. [John Shishmanian/Norwich Bulletin.com]
Knowles, an English professor at Three Rivers and Hartford’s poet laureate and an African American, told the students he grew up in a home across the street from the college. On the first night his family moved in, neighbors burned a cross in their yard.
“This insidious act did not deter our family,” Knowles said. While racism, homophobia, elitism and similar attitudes are trying to collapse communities, education can fight them, he said.
“Cultivate your community like it was your own Garden of Eden,” Knowles said.
Class Valedictorian Michelle Reynolds thanked her fellow graduates, as well as the college’s faculty and staff, and family members and friends for support.
“We don’t succeed alone,” Reynolds said. “We stand on the shoulders of those who have lifted us.”
Reynolds, who graduated with a perfect 4.0 average and received an associate degree in graphic design, also was awarded the Medallion for Academic Excellence.
The two oldest graduates at the ceremony were Thomas and Mary Baudro of Gales Ferry, who have been married for 45 years. Thomas Baudro, 74, actually received his third degree from Three Rivers – in technology studies, and received a bachelor’s degree from UConn.
“This is a community college that is truly a community,” said Mary Baudro, 72, who received her first degree in visual fine arts. “I didn’t know I could draw until I got here.”
The youngest graduate is Elise Sperry, 17, a student at Three Rivers Middle College, which is a magnet high school on the same campus. Sperry will get her high school diploma from that school in June. In addition, it allowed her to receive an associate degree in liberal arts and sciences.
She will be joining the honors program at UConn in the fall and as well as being able to get her bachelor’s degree in two years instead of four, Sperry has received a full scholarship.
“There’s a lot of things I’m definitely going to miss here,” Sperry said. “I feel very prepared going on to UConn.”
Another well-prepared graduate is Jogaintz Ledoux, of New London, a native of Haiti, who is getting a degree in mechanical engineering technology. Ledoux, 20, got a summer internship with Pratt & Whitney and now will work there full-time.
Zaha Bush, 24, of Salem, received her degree in nursing after four years at Three Rivers, while working full-time.
“It was affordable. It has a lot to offer,” Bush said of the college. “The staff would really help you. They want you to succeed.”
She said she tells friends thinking about college, “Come here first. It’s a great place to discover yourself and get direction.”
“I love it. I’m sad to be leaving,” graduate Sadie Wilson, 24, of Voluntown, said. Wilson received her degree in criminal justice enforcement and is studying to be a lawyer. She also will get her bachelor’s degree this year from Roger Williams University.
She spent four years at Three Rivers. “I got pregnant, so it took me a little longer,” Wilson said, holding her 17-month-old son, William Babbitt, before the start of the ceremony.
At the ceremony, Norwich community leader Lottie Scott, whom Jukoski praised as “a wonderful role model,” received the Distinguished Community Service Award.
An honorary degree also was presented to William Stanley, a graduate of Mohegan Community College, which merged with Thames Valley Technical College to form Three Rivers. Stanley is an executive at Lawrence + Memorial Hospital in New London and is president of the Three Rivers Foundation board of directors.
— By John Barry, Norwich Bulletin staff writer
The original article can be found here: ‘Three Rivers grads urged to ‘cultivate your community.’
READ MOREIn the News | Three Rivers quadcopter team takes first place
Norwich, Connecticut (The Day, May 17, 2019) —A team from Three River Community College that included five local students tied for first place in the annual NASA-sponsored Community College Quadcopter Challenge April 26 at Quinebaug Valley Community College in Danielson.
The Thames River Community College drone team, from left, Daniel Docker of New London, Adam Rugh of Old Mystic, Kevin Peterson of New London, Jonathan Bermudez of Norwich and Nate Reigles of Oakdale, along with advisor Yevhen Rutovytskyy. (Photo submitted)
Students were Adam Rugh of Old Mystic, Nate Reigles of Oakdale, Kevin Peterson and Daniel Docker of New London and Jonathan Bermudez of Norwich. The final two students were military veterans.
The team, led by Electric Boat engineer and adjunct professor Yevhen Rutovytskyy, tied QVCC, which had won the three previous drone challenges.
Each team member put in between 80 and 100 hours of work into into the drone, and each student will receive a $1,000 stipend.
The project is intended to increase the number of science, technology, engineering and math graduates, raise awareness of NASA education initiatives, enhance STEM diversity and provide experience with computer-aided drafting software.
“As a senior engineer at a defense contractor, my goal is to help students transcend their ‘comfort zone’ and learn skills that are not ordinarily offered as part of the engineering curriculum in community colleges,” Rutovytskyy, a Colchester resident, said in an email.
Part of the challenge included fabricating a multi-positional camera mount to allow the drone operator to manually switch camera views and acquire in-flight pictures of various targets of interest.
The original article can be found here: ‘Three Rivers quadcopter team takes first place’
READ MOREThree Rivers College Foundation Awards $410,000 in Scholarships
The Three Rivers College Foundation held the twenty-seventh annual Scholarship Awards Ceremony on Tuesday, May 7 at Three Rivers Community College. Generous contributions led to over $410,000 in scholarships awarded to a record-breaking 188 students.
Ahamed.jpeg: Ann Ahamed and Sully Ahamed present the Ann M. Ahamed Scholarship, a full-tuition scholarship, to Donald Duca (center), a graduating senior from Norwich Tech.
Proud families and friends packed the room during the hour-long ceremony as close to $7,000 was given away per minute! The total scholarships awarded came to just over $410,000, which includes $50,000 in summer scholarships. The majority of the scholarships support students through the fall and spring semesters, but many students who have exhausted their financial aid and cannot afford summer courses benefit from the summer scholarships which helps expedite their path to graduation. The summer scholarship program was incredibly successful last year.
See the list of fall and spring scholarship recipients ordered by town here.
READ MORE