More Than 300 Graduate From Asnuntuck

Over 300 students received two-year degrees and/or certificates during the annual commencement program at Asnuntuck Community College in Enfield Friday.

The total of 304 graduates, including students who graduated in August and December 2010, represented a 50 percent increase from the previous year, president Martha McLeod said.

In a reversal of past trends, 178 graduates were males, as opposed to 126 females. McLeod said about 80 percent of previous graduating classes were women.

Graduates ranged in age from 18 to 81, continuing the longstanding ideal that Asnuntuck is a haven for non-traditional students, McLeod said.

A large number of graduates received certificates in the college's Manufacturing Technology program. McLeod said 92 percent of those students have already been placed in jobs.

Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman told the graduates, "Get ready for change when you move on with your lives." She recounted how she became involved in politics in her hometown of Tolland nearly 30 years ago, when she requested some members of that town's school board be impeached.

"During that phone call, I found out that presidents could be impeached, but school board members could not," she said. "That phone call from a frustrated mother 30 years ago changed my life."

Wyman decided to run for the school board and was elected. She served eight years before becoming a state representative, then held the office of state comptroller for 15 years before being sworn in as lieutenant governor on Jan. 5.

Enfield Police Chief Carl Sferrazza told the graduates, "In order to draft a blueprint for the future, we need to look at where we have been, where we have come from and what has worked for us yesterday. We then can incorporate those strategies into our lives today, to get us where we want to be tomorrow."

English professor Joseph Finckel said only 38 percent of Americans have either a two- or four-year degree. "That means 62 percent of your countrymen and women did not have the opportunity, the money or the drive to accomplish what you've done today," he said.

In his farewell address, student speaker Paul Tedder said, "The moment we've obsessed, stressed and dreamed about is here."

Tedder, Kathryn Lechausse, Annette Taylor-Thomas and Caeleen Miller received medallions for achieving a perfect 4.0 grade point average. Lechausse received the Broken Paddle Award for her contributions to the college and the community, Jessica Abbe was presented the Nelson Bordeau Award for overcoming hardships in pursuit of her education, and Kim Quinn received the Distinguished Service Award for her academic and volunteerism record.

Complete list of graduates is available by clicking the PDF file under "photos".