COMMENCEMENT 2016

Date and Location

Commencement took place on Wednesday May 19, 2016 at 5:00 p.m. on the Green at Three Rivers Community College.

Photo Gallery

You’ll find over 90 photos of Commencement in our Flickr gallery, TRCC Commencement 2016.

Live Stream Videocast of Commencement 2016

Click here for the video of our live stream broadcast of the ceremony.

Commencement Address Speaker

Fionnuala Darby-Hudgens grew up in western Massachusetts, and enrolled at Three Rivers Community College (TRCC) after the birth of her oldest daughter. During her Women’s Studies course, she discovered that she had a desire to advocate for marginalized populations. While at TRCC, she was the President of Lone Juliet (the student feminist organization), and raised funds to send students to a Washington, D.C. conference on
empowering student female leaders. She also worked as astudent tutor in the College’s writing center, and was awarded three scholarships by the Three Rivers College Foundation. She graduated Magna Cum Laude with an A.S. in Liberal Arts and Science in 2010.

Fionnuala transferred to Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut in January 2011, majoring in Educational Studies with a concentration in Urban Studies. While at Trinity, she worked with The Connecticut Fair Housing Center to uncover links between housing and schooling, was awarded several research funding opportunities, and a Community Research Fellowship. Her thesis, which examines Connecticut’s residential zoning policy, is cited in The Department of Housing and Urban Development’s 2014 “Analysis of The Impediments to Fair Housing.” She has appeared on NPR to provide commentary on zoning, and has provided testimony in support of fair housing initiatives to Connecticut’s General Assembly. She completed advanced studies in Urbanism, graduated Cum Laude in May 2013 with a B.A. in Educational Studies, and was awarded the Richard K. Morris award for excellence in Education.

After graduating, Fionnuala returned to TRCC as a writing tutor in the Tutoring and Academic Success Center (TASC) then moved to TRCC’s Transitional Scholars Program. currently, she is the Transitional Scholars Program Coordinator, and the Student Advisor for all of TRCC’s Transitional students. In addition to her responsibilities at TRCC, Fionnuala is also a graduate student at the University of Connecticut pursuing a Master’s of Public Administration. She was recently awarded the LaMattina Family Professional Development Award to support her research into the obstacles faced by under-prepared first-generation college students. In her spare time, Fionnuala serves as the President of the Board of Trustees at Montessori Discovery School in Norwich, CT. She spends her weekends with her spouse and young daughters.

Fionnuala credits TRCC for providing her a space to learn how to love learning, and she hopes to provide the same for all of her students.