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| Media Contact: Office of Institutional Advancement (602) 787-7774 |
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PHOENIX May 13, 2009 –
Congratulations to the 742 students in the Spring 2009 Paradise Valley Community College graduating class. Stella Napoles, supervisor of Admissions and Records says that more than 100 graduating students plus their families and friends will be attending PVCC's 19th Annual Graduation Ceremonies beginning at 7:30 p.m., Friday, May 15, south of the Center for the Performing Arts. Will Gonzalez, community prosecutor for the City of Phoenix, is delivering the Guest Commencement Address. Student speakers are Trish Moran and Laurie Bachand. A reception will be held outside the CPA immediately following the ceremony.Here are a few of the many success stories from this year's graduating class:
Jake Harris
After graduating from Cactus Shadows High School, Jake Harris wrangled cattle, trained horses and worked construction. Now, this PVCC student is an All-Arizona Academic team member. While taking anthropology and biology courses, he found a passion -- paleoanthropology, the study of ancient humans. Jake was as a math tutor in the PVCC Student Learning Center, a lab assistant for Dr. Lynda Santiago and was invited by UNLV to accompany Professor Doss Powell on an archaeological dig. He cites these professors as just two examples of the enthusiastic and devoted members of the faculty that he found here at PVCC. Named to the prestigious All-Arizona Academic Team, Jake is a summer research intern at T-Gen. He transfers to ASU as Biology major with a full scholarship.
Betty McElligott
This accomplished business professional is married with three children ages 14 to 22. She set a goal to attain her AA degree and stuck to it through all the struggles of life. Sometimes health, family or personal issues would take priority but Betty always found a way to get back on the PVCC graduation track. She is not only an amazing student, but also an amazing employee. Betty is a PVCC staff tutor for the Learning Support Center and has successfully earned her tutoring credentials, achieving the highest rank. Through her own experiences, she has honed the ability to relate to students and their struggles with learning. Betty’s hard work and dedication accomplished a 4.0 GPA.
Mike McKenna
Against all odds, living with a rare seizure disorder, Mike has completed his coursework at PVCC to continue onto ASU West in Social Work.
As a successful homebuilder in California, Mike started to experience seizures. He had to stop building homes and could no longer drive. He began treatments at the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, undergoing rare surgery that was featured on a Mayo television special. During his time in Phoenix, he enrolled at PVCC. While at college, his seizures continued and he's undergone several hospitalizations. Yet, he continued his studies and maintained a high GPA, even attending classes after experiencing a severe seizure the night before.
Kaylen Miller
An All-Arizona Academic First Team and USA Third Team scholarship winner, Kaylen Miller also gained national recognition as a Coca-Cola Bronze medal winner. She also received one of the college’s top honors – the Golden Puma. Taking 64 credits in one year, she still maintained a 4.0 average. Kaylen moved to Phoenix from a small town outside Sydney. She says she left Australia looking for a "second chance," far away from the fundamentalist religion she was raised in, where pursuing higher education was discouraged. She plans to use her tuition waiver prize for a Bachelor of Arts in Education at Arizona State University West in the newly formed Professional Development School, a partnership among PVCC, Paradise Valley Unified School District and ASU West.
John Russell
Home schooled since the fourth grade, this 18-year-old began attending classes at PVCC when he was 13. He test results netted him an Honors Tuition Waiver. John says that he has enjoyed exploring a variety of subjects and possible majors. While he has a love of Math, he is still undecided but plans on further studies at one of the many universities in which he has been accepted including Georgetown, Duke, Columbia, University of Southern California and Pomona. Also, he’s on the wait list for Harvard and Princeton.
