Now halfway through its 60th year of existence, officials with Hopkinsville Community College had plenty to celebrate last Friday at the Thomas L. Riley Lecture Hall — when a record 759 credentials were awarded in the noon and 3 PM commencements for the fall Class of 2024 graduation.
When speaking to and for her fellow classmates, this past semester’s Vice President of HCC Student Government Olivia Lancaster took a moment to thank staff, faculty and families — emotions, understandably, nearly taking her voice.
Lancaster also thanked HCC faculty and staff for helping provide her the tools and encouragement necessary to take that next step.
Pat Riley, HCC’s STEM division chair and professor of mathematics, served as special faculty speaker — and uniquely offered words of wisdom from several of his associates.
Many of the quips, he said, came from family members, historical figures, TV stars, among others: Tom Brokaw, Neil Gaiman, Backstreet Boys, Henry David Thoreau, Albert Schweitzer, Leonard Nimoy, George Herbert, Mae West, Dr. Seuss, The Office and Jim Valvano.
He closed, however, with notes from Dunder Mifflin’s oft-maligned, yet misunderstood, regional manager Michael Scott.
HCC President & CEO Dr. Alissa Young called the student’s efforts “a celebration of achievement, a celebration of accomplishment, a celebration of steadfastness.”
By noon Tuesday, 16-week and second 8-week class grades are due. End of term processing begins Wednesday, and the campus will be closed for Christmas and New Year’s from December 23 until January 3, 2025.
The 16-week classes, as well as the first 8-week bi-term, return January 13, 2025. All campuses will be closed January 20, 2025, in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
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