'American Idol' Contestant Singing National Anthem Saturday for Largest Graduation in History of Camden County College, Which Also Will Feature First Alum Elected to Congress and Greetings from Obama Administration

Camille Peruto, a 20-year-old Camden County College student who lives in Sewell, will sing the national anthem as part of the graduation ceremony for the 1,735-member CCC Class of 2015 – the largest graduating class in the history of the College.

CCC’s 47th annual commencement exercises will begin with Peruto’s rendition of “The Star Spangled Banner” at 10 a.m. Saturday. It will take place in the Truman Courtyard of the Blackwood Campus, which is located at College Drive and Peter Cheeseman Road in Gloucester Township. More than 5,000 audience members are expected to attend.

Peruto has been a liberal arts and sciences major at CCC since 2013 and is expected to graduate next year. In addition to singing in shows on campus as part of her studies, she regularly performs gigs throughout the region as a professional solo artist. She has recorded her music and produced videos, two of which may be viewed at www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXqGFsWeNp4 and www.youtube.com/watch?v=JsvvtWutJUQ. An “American Idol” segment with her is at
www.americanidol.com/watch/397560387914/7716941568 and her website and Facebook page are at www.camilleperuto.com/ and www.facebook.com/camilleperutomusic, respectively.

The ceremony will feature a keynote address by U.S. Rep. Donald Norcross, D-NJ-1, the first graduate of the College to be elected to Congress. Norcross also will receive CCC’s 2015 Outstanding Alumnus Award, which has been presented annually at commencement since 2008 to, among others, Pulitzer Prize winner Trymaine Lee, Higgs boson “god particle” discovery team member Mitch Newcomer and Walt MacDonald, who heads the SAT-administering Educational Testing Service.

Another first will be remarks from a member of the Obama Administration. United States Department of Labor Deputy Secretary Christopher P. Lu will offer greetings during the ceremony and tour the College’s Department of Labor-funded mobile mechatronics lab immediately after.

Joining Norcross and Lu on stage will be Rana Elmekadem, 21, who will deliver the graduating student address. She is the first CCC student to be elected New Jersey State President for Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society, the top honor society for community college students, and she was recognized with this year’s Phi Theta Kappa Most Distinguished Regional Officer Award for her outstanding leadership in this position. She also is one of two CCC students named to the 2015 All-New Jersey Academic Team by the New Jersey Council of County Colleges.

Overall, the Camden County College Class of 2015 ranges in age from 19 to 74 and includes 82 members who are graduating with more than one associate degree or academic
certificate; 134 members who have earned a perfect 4.0 grade-point average; and 49 veterans of military service. As can be expected for a community college that is a commuter school, most members are natives of Camden County or are from elsewhere in New Jersey, Pennsylvania or Delaware. However, the class also includes those from far- away states such as Florida, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas as well as from 24 other countries, including Australia, Bulgaria, China, Indonesia, Nigeria and Russia.

Other notable members of the Camden County College Class of 2015 include:

 Joseph Hughes, a 44-year-old addictions counseling major. Hughes graduated at the very bottom of his Gloucester Catholic High School class in 1990 and spent many years as a drug addict before getting clean in 2010. The Camden resident and father of two is the first in his family to graduate from college, and he is doing so with a 4.0 GPA and passion to help others with substance abuse issues turn their lives around. He is transferring to Drexel University to continue his studies in behavioral health.

 Porcha Baylor, a 46-year-old human services major. Baylor, a Camden resident, raised her two sons through college – including one who is a dancer on Broadway – and then set about seizing “her time” for bettering herself with a college education after working dead-end jobs for 26 years. In addition to serving as the Camden City Campus executive officer for the CCC Student Government Association, the grandmother is a volunteer sexual violence victim advocate with the Center for Family Services and a breast cancer registration volunteer for the American Cancer Society. She credits the financial, academic and emotional support she received from the Educational Opportunity Fund as key to her successfully completing her studies. She is transferring to Rutgers University–Camden and plans to complete bachelor’s and master’s degrees in social work.

 Sheree Kelly, a 29-year-old health and exercise science major. Kelly, who commutes to CCC from Trenton, has persevered in completing her associate degree despite a learning disability and a history of serious health issues – which started in the neonatal intensive care unit at birth and more recently included tumors and Lyme disease. As a result, she has failed, dropped, withdrawn from and struggled through classes since she began her higher education 11 years ago. The self-described “fighter,” though, will be the first in her family to graduate from college. She is planning to transfer to the University of North Carolina–Charlotte and hopes to eventually complete a doctorate in kinesiology so she can assist ailing children.

 Christopher Shinn, a 49-year-old business major from Berlin who is completing his studies after a 30-year hiatus that included owning and operating several small businesses. As DJ “Captain Chris,” Shinn found himself a new niche at the CCC student radio station WDBK. He brought more than 70 artists, business owners, sports figures and politicians, including former New Jersey Gov. Jim Florio, to campus for exclusive interviews during his tenure with the station. He is hoping to be elected to the alumni trustee position on the Camden County College Board of Trustees. He is transferring to Rutgers University–Camden to earn a bachelor’s degree in business administration.

 Crystal Rosa Pagan-Perez, a 21-year-old psychology major from Pennsauken, who is the other 2015 All-New Jersey Academic Team member from Camden County College. Pagan-Perez is president of CCC’s chapters of Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society and Psi Beta Psychology Honor Society. She attended CCC as a New Jersey Student Tuition Assistance Reward Scholarship (NJ STARS) student and received the Dr. Otto R. Mauke Memorial Scholarship, named for the founding president of the College.