Amidst fears of torrential rain and a possible tornado, fair weather brought 6,000 graduates, guests, faculty, staff, administrators, trustees and politicians together on the CCBC Essex Campus for a 68-year tradition: Commencement. We could not have scripted a better day for CCBC’s 2025 Commencement ceremony where a proud 1,000 – of the more than 2,700 graduates – cheered, marched and officially graduated. This momentous event is more than a celebratory highlight. It is an act of putting “Paid” on a promise: it reminds us of how the work we do everyday endures.
I am fond of telling students that the world is run by those who show up. And show up they did. Each graduate triumphed over personal challenges to earn a seat beneath our vast Commencement tent. The world we have created and the roles we have defined for ourselves are ever evolving into new ones which these graduates will have to shape. And given the undeniable tension in our country and in the world today, it won’t be easy. But then again, it never is. Just as colleagues across the country, our job was to help them get ready, in short, to inspire and guide them.
While Commencement translates into visible success enshrined in one day, our real success is yearlong, as we work together to bring students to a high level of completion. Our students become “citizen soldiers” of the 21st century: a technologically literate, yet humane citizenry, able to thrive and not just survive in the world as a global village. The goal is simple: to help all of us forge a kinder, gentler nation by ensuring opportunity as a universal right. These graduates now join the ranks of hundreds of thousands of nurses, teachers, artists, electricians, plumbers, scientists, and musicians who have walked across the stages of 1,000 community colleges across the country.
Community based and welcoming of all who come to our campuses, we are aware of how little the actions or words of any single college or any single campus might influence world issues. Our gift to our communities is that of a safe haven in which to study, work and learn. Largely apolitical, we could not imagine taking positions that would pit one group of students or employees against another, ultimately turning one group into villains and another into heroes. With policies in place to protect free speech and peaceful protest, rather than deter, we try to model behavior that teaches students how to articulate a point of view, how to debate, and how to disagree through respectful discourse.
I never fail to be proud of my college on Commencement Day. Nothing beats the pride that every community college professional can take in our student’s achievement. Experiencing firsthand the joy and celebration of families – from 10-month-old babies to 90-year-old great grandmothers – is a high in itself. These graduates carry with them the hopes of their families as they strengthen their communities.
Commencement is a testament to the collective dedication, passion, and commitment of every community college professional. We can all claim justifiable pride in “Another Best Day Ever!”