RCBC To Hold 2 Commencement Ceremonies Next Week

Rowan College at Burlington County will hold two commencement ceremonies on the quad in front of the Student Success Center on its Mount Laurel campus for the first time in college history, officials announced.

A commencement ceremony for Health Sciences students will take place on Thursday, May 17, 5 p.m.

A commencement ceremony for Liberal Arts and Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) students will take place on Friday, May 18, 11 a.m.

“As a former RCBC trustee, and now Freeholder Director, I have seen first-hand how Burlington County has invested in our students and this institution. The students graduating have also invested in themselves and their futures,” Burlington County Freeholder Director Kate Gibbs said. “The transformation of the Mount Laurel Campus is a true representation of how we continue to provide our students with access to affordable education and I look forward to the many things the graduates will accomplish.”

Both events are presented by Whole Foods Market and will feature different keynote addresses.

“This is a great time to celebrate our students’ successful transformation through education,” Rowan College at Burlington County Acting President Michael Cioce said. “Our students have worked incredibly hard toward their educational and career goals with the support and guidance of dedicated faculty and staff throughout the college. I can’t wait to shake their hands as they receive their diploma in the center of the Mount Laurel Campus.”

Virtua Health System President and CEO Dennis W. Pullin will be the keynote speaker for the Health Sciences ceremony.

Pullin started at Virtua in 2017 after serving as president of MedStar Harbor Hospital and senior vice president of MedStar Health. Prior to leading MedStar Harbor, he was senior vice president and chief operating officer at MedStar Washington Hospital Center in Washington, D.C.

He has several leadership positions in healthcare management and was chosen as one of South Jersey Biz’s Top CEOs/CFOs in 2017. Virtua and RCBC have an extensive partnership that has increased employment opportunities for students and educational benefits for Virtua associates. Pullin’s complete bio is available here.

Rev. Aubrey Fenton, lead pastor for the Abundant Life Fellowship Church, will be the keynote speaker for the Liberal Arts and STEM ceremony. Fenton is the lead pastor of the Abundant Life Fellowship Church in Edgewater Park where he was instrumental in the award-winning Living Spring Campus development that provides homes for senior citizens, military veterans who have a disability and those with developmental disabilities.

Fenton, who received the meritorious award for outstanding public service to BurlingtonCounty from the Greater Delaware Valley Branch of the NAACP of Burlington County, served as a Burlington County freeholder and a trustee of RCBC. Fenton’s complete bio is available here.

Madison Weller, of Lumberton, is the Valedictorian. She was chosen from among a group of more than two dozen students who had perfect 4.0 grade point averages. She will pursue her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Writing at Rowan University, and has already begun a career in marketing and communications.

After interning with the college’s Office of Strategic Marketing and Communications, Weller has secured a full-time position as assistant director of Marketing and Client Services for the Moorestown-based law firm, Posternock Apell.

“Rowan College at Burlington County gave me the direction I needed to go directly from classroom to career as I continue to pursue further degrees at Rowan University,” Weller said. “I am incredibly grateful for many wonderful faculty members, classmates and staff who have helped me achieve, and exceed, my goals.”

Whole Foods Market will provide food for all students, faculty and staff at both ceremonies. InFlight, LLC is providing drone photography.

The attached image was provided by Rowan College at Burlington County