MCCC Graduates Reminded of Importance of Education During Commencement Speeches

celebrated the largest graduating class in the history of the school, graduating 1,432 students during the college’s 44^th commencement ceremony, held at the Valley Forge Convention Center.

The students are diverse, ranging in age from 18 to 68, with 33 international students, 46 veterans and nine active members of the military.

There were also 19 graduates who completed their degrees entirely online, 26 in the honors program, 71 who were named to the Who’s Who of American Junior Colleges, and 27 who had a perfect 4.0 grade point average.

The student speaker for the night, Antonio Marrero, took a break from his education to join the U.S. Marines and returned to MCCC in 2009 to complete his degree in emergency medical services. He started a "no hate" campaign on campus, where students could take a stand against bullying, and graduated an honors student.

This summer, Marrero is headed to Honduras to provide medical services to those in need.

“I have dreamt of the honor of addressing this class for years,” said Marrero.

He spoke about the change education can bring to the graduates' lives, and the change each person before him can bring to the world, or even their small part of it.

However, he reminded graduates, “Each path that led us here tonight was not without its hardships … We must remember the good times and the bad.”

“We will not abandon our dreams,” he continued.

“Hear our voices because we will not go quietly. … We will unite, and not only conquer our own futures, but the future of the common good,” he concluded.

Karen Stout, MCCC president, welcomed  Jill Biden, who grew up in Willow Grove, graduated from Upper Moreland High School, and has spent the last 18 years of her career teaching at community colleges as a full-time professor.

“She’s leading the way as a strong public advocate,” said Stout.

“Today, I congratulate all of you. All of you graduates, all of your proud mothers and fathers, husbands and wives, sons, daughters and friends. You did it!” said Biden, the wife of Vice President Joe Biden.

Biden said that she still teaches full-time at a community college in Northern Virginia.

“People often ask me why I continue to teach, and my answer is very simple: It’s you. It’s the students," she said. "On more days and in more ways that I can remember, my students have inspired me with their persistence, their inquisitiveness and their absolute faith that education will make their lives better.”

Biden talked about the students she has met in her years of teaching, as well as highlighted some of the graduating students.

“You all came to this college at many different stages in life, but, today, after hard work and sacrifice, long hours and sleepless nights, you all walk across the same stage, having accomplished something no one can ever take from you,” Biden said.

However, she said, “every year, I meet students who have doubts, who are unsure of the destinies, unaware of the abilities they possess. And every year, around this time, I see those same students in caps and gowns walk across the stage and receive a diploma.

“It’s a feeling you can get at most universities, yes, but it's especially strong at community colleges—where the gap between what is imagined at the beginning and what is achieved at the end can be so wide.”

She discussed the importance of community colleges and the role they play in the community and the in education of the population.

“President Obama has set a goal of leading the world in college graduates by 2020. And he knows that community colleges are key to reaching that goal—and you are all living proof.”

MCCC presented Biden with an honorary associate's in letters in recognition of her achievements and the mark she has made in the world on community colleges and education.