Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
FRIDAH KIARIE posses for a picture with her friends and family while saying "ngwaci" (sweet potato). The Kenyan native graduated from Gogebic Community College Friday night with a Associate of Applied Science degree.
By BRYAN HELLIOS
Ironwood - The Gogebic Community College graduates of 2019 wore smiles as they took part in the college's 85th commencement ceremony on Friday.
"Tonight is your night," Erik Guenard, interim president at GCC said welcoming everyone who attended the event.
"This is the time when your family, friends, this community and the college take pride in your accomplishments," he said while congratulating the students.
With 213 students graduating, Karen Balyeat, nursing instructor, said seeing the students leave is a "bitter-sweet" moment.
"You develop relationships with them and you get to know them," she said.
Balyeat said college is "tough" and the students who graduated deserve recognition.
"It's a celebration after a lot of hard work," she said.
Foenix Aria Szot earned both her high school diploma from and an associate degree in computer programing.
The 19-year-old Ironwood native is part of a program offered at Luther L. Wright High School.
"I know there are at least two or three more people that are in the early college program with me, but there are very few of us," she said.
When asked if she planed on staying around the area, she replied, "That depends where my journey takes me."
Balyeat said she feels the graduates have "tons of opportunities."
Some graduating nursing students, she said, have already been offered jobs.
"They will sometime get in touch with us a year or two down the road and let us know where they're at and they're all over doing amazing things," she said. "It's really cool to hear back from them."
Guenard closed the ceremony with words he credits to Dennis Mackey, the college's men's basketball caoch..
"Once a Samson, always a Samson," the crowd chanted along with Guenard.
