Elgin Community College Announces Spring 2026 Commencement Ceremonies

ELGIN, Ill., May 11, 2026 — Elgin Community College (ECC) will recognize its spring 2026 graduates with two commencement ceremonies on Saturday, May 16, 2026. Both ceremonies will take place in Building J (Events Center) on ECC’s Spartan Drive Campus, 1700 Spartan Drive, in Elgin.

Two ceremonies will honor graduates from ECC’s academic divisions:

• The Career and Technical Education Ceremony: 10 am, featuring student speaker Brianna Zlotow and Bohdan Andrashko-Kubini, a 2026 DREAM Scholar by Achieving the DREAM
• The University Transfer Ceremony: 2 pm, featuring student speaker Zoe Fowler

Fowler describes her ECC journey as a transformative experience that has helped her build confidence and take pride in herself. She is a member of Phi Theta Kappa, a recipient of the Jack and Marlene Shakes Nursing Scholarship, and a married mother of two who currently works as a home health and hospice CNA (certified nursing assistant).

“Earning my nursing degree is the realization of a dream I have carried for many years, and ECC has been the foundation that made it possible,” Fowler said. “The nursing program pushed me to develop resilience, critical thinking, and compassion. These are qualities that will stay with me far beyond graduation.”

About his time at ECC, Andrashko-Kubini said, “My professors taught me to think critically and reflect deeply, and I found countless opportunities to engage. ECC began to feel like home, and like a strong platform to build my life upon.”

Zlotow said ECC impacted her life by showing her what she wanted and that she was strong enough to achieve those dreams. ECC professors made her feel “smart and intelligent” for the first time in her life, she said. She has also joined clubs and was elected to the student government.

“Getting diagnosed dyslexic as a child made places of education scary,” Zlotow said. “I was told I would never find my place in any form of academics; ECC proved that was a lie. ECC has allowed me to take the first step into the rest of my life.”

The faculty speaker at both ceremonies will be English Professor Jeanne Anderson. Anderson is a recipient of the 2026 Orrin G. Thompson Teaching Excellence Award. This award honors faculty members who have made an outstanding contribution to the learning environment of the college and are dedicated to student success.

Both ceremonies will be livestreamed at youtube.com/ElginSpartans.

For more information, visit elgin.edu/commencement.

Contact:
Elgin Community College
Communications
Office: 847.214.7838
Email: news@elgin.edu

About ECC: An Achieving the Dream Leader College and one of the Aspen Institute’s Top 200 schools in the nation, Elgin Community College (ECC) is a comprehensive, fully accredited public community college and serves approximately 16,000 students each year Programs of study include more than 30 major fields for university transfer, a full complement of pre-collegiate courses, corporate and continuing education, and more than 130 career-oriented occupational degrees and certificates. ECC is also a U.S. Department of Education-designated Hispanic Serving Institution.

ECC NEWS MEDIA PROTOCOL
All members of the media should utilize the communications department as the first point of contact. The director of communications may be reached at 847-214-7838 or news@elgin.edu. All Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests must be submitted in writing to Erin Schmalen, compliance officer, at eschmalen@elgin.edu or via fax at 847-214-7375.