Dr. Eric Clark
Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College will graduate a record number of students this year with 1,651 students receiving degrees during the summer, fall and spring semesters of the 2008-09 school year. More than 744 of those students are scheduled to take part in the commencement ceremonies on May 14 at 7 p.m. in the Mississippi Coast Coliseum in Biloxi.
Dr. Eric Clark, executive director of the Mississippi State Board for Community and Junior Colleges, will speak at the commencement ceremony. Clark, who previously served for 12 years as Mississippi Secretary of State and 16 years as a member of the Mississippi Legislature, took his leadership position at the SBCJC in January 2008.
For many of the students participating in the ceremony, graduation means the beginning of a new career or perhaps transferring to a university. It will also be a time of reflection.
Katie Hurt, 20, of Vancleave, is finishing her two years at the Jackson County Campus in Gautier. She’s not walking in the ceremony, but instead will work the event as part of the campus Reflections Team. “I am excited about my future at The University of Southern Mississippi, but I also know that I’m going to miss everyone here at Gulf Coast. It’s been like home to me, since it’s small enough to have that family feel.” Hurt, who plans to receive her bachelor’s degree in psychology at USM and who is also the Student Council parliamentarian at the Jackson County Campus, adds, “I have been so involved in all the campus activities and have enjoyed every moment. It has given me the opportunity to see how much effort is involved in something like graduation and makes me appreciate what Gulf Coast does for its students.”
Minh Ngoc Pham, 20, of Biloxi, is majoring in biological sciences at the Jefferson Davis Campus. She plans to walk at graduation. “I will start classes at Ole Miss in August, so I am already thinking about getting packed and getting up to Oxford. I will miss my friends I’ve made at JD, though. Some of them are new friends –not from high school– but they’ll be lifelong friends. We’ve studied together and done things outside class. It will be hard not seeing them every day.”
Maya Sokolowski, 20, of Wiggins, represented the college at the Higher Education Appreciation Day–Working for Academic Excellence (HEADWAE) program in Jackson this year. “The past two years have been the best of my life. I participated on the PTK All-Academic Team, and I had a blast on the Reflections Team. I will definitely miss the fun, but I’m looking forward to whatever the future might bring.” Sokolowski plans to attend William Carey University in Hattiesburg and major in history and secondary education.
Dr. Willis H. Lott, president of Gulf Coast, will confer degrees and present diplomas to the graduates as they cross the coliseum stage. “Our mission is to make a positive difference in our students’ lives. In return, many of our graduates make a difference to the world, using their degrees from Gulf Coast to further advances in technology, to teach future generations in the classroom or to save lives through medical breakthroughs. We are pleased that our graduates treasure their time at Gulf Coast. We congratulate them on their achievement.”
For more information about commencement at Gulf Coast, visit www.mgccc.edu.
