West Orange Students Earn Degrees: Essex County College Holds 2016 Commencement

WEST ORANGE, NJ — Essex County College awarded 1,452 associate degrees and certificates at its 47th Commencement Ceremony on June 3 at the Prudential Center in Newark.

The following West Orange residents were graduates of the class of 2016.

Kelly Agurto

Chinazo Akpu

Gabriela Alvarez

Freda Anin

Joane Ansu-Gyeabour

Ugoo Anyaegbu

Gilbert Anyangwe

Timothy Atanacio

Devesh Balar

Ashraf Bedir

Kathleen Berkery-Eng

Heather Bermudez

Aniel Cadet

Karl Cajuste

Veronica Castro

Ha Jae Chon

Elizabeth Cumming

Laura Delgado

Flor Espinal

Brianna Gary

Kimberly Gaskin

Nicholas Gittens

Daniel Gomez

Brizia Gonzales

Harry Greenfield

Lydia Gyeabour

Marie Francoise Herard

Adriana Hernandez

Fatima Ismail

Noemi Izaguirre

Germina Jasmin

Ginny Jean

Pedro Josaphat

Holly Kempson

Lourdemia Lafalaise

Yugindra Latchman

Cristian Lliguicota

Jennie Louis

Jeff Marc

Ashley Martyr

Danielle Mason

Zachary Massader

Matthew McHugh

Jecika Merzius

Dario Nunez

Jennifer Nunez-Rivas

Martha Nyambi-Anyangwe

Jimmy Ouko

Noelia Perez

Chris Pitt

Joan Rementilla

Stephanie Rengel

Maira Riley

Guilherme Rocha

Cesar Santisteban

Jesse Sears

Frank Sevilla

Connor Smeraldo

Sandra Tanis

Astrid Tello

Joes Tello

Nadine Thomas Dorceus

JaQuan Thornton

Juwon Townsend

Chrismana Tunis

Fiorella Vidal

Marcus Walsh

Joette Wauchope

Dane Williams

This year's class included 260 students graduating with Honors, High Honors and Highest Honors, according to a college news release.

At 17, Marylynda Ogbundinkpa (Associate in Science in Biology, Pre-Medicine) was the youngest graduate. On the other side of the spectrum, 63-year-old Alcina George (Associate in Arts in Education) was the most senior graduate.

The 2016 class came from 53 municipalities throughout New Jersey (mostly from Essex County) and 18 foreign countries. Countries represented by the class included Brazil, Cameroon, China, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ethiopia, Ghana, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Liberia, Nigeria, Panama, The Bahamas, Trinidad & Tobago, and Turkey.

Valedictorian Ashley Morales (Associate in Science in Business Administration) urged her classmates to look to the future with confidence.

"You earned being here today... Be proud of what you have accomplished and the great institution behind you that played a part in making you who you are today," said the 21 year old Newark resident who is currently attending Rutgers University-Newark's Business School, as a management major.

In her valedictorian address, Morales paid homage to author Dr. Seuss, noting his book "Oh, the Places You'll Go" can be an inspiration to her and her classmates.

Caio Matias, a Biology, Pre-Medicine major originally from Brazil, served as this year's class salutatorian. A resident of Kearny, he will attend Yale University this fall. His ultimate goal is working for Doctors Without Borders.

Edwin W. Powell, an Educational Psychologist/Assistant Professor in the Department of Community and Family Medicine at Howard University, served as keynote speaker.

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