Alumni - Richland Community College

& AlumniFriendsRichland Community College Alumni NewsletterCommencement Ceremoniescontinued from page 1President Gayle Saunderswelcomed and congratulated the2009 graduates, their families,and instructors. “There are manypersonal stories of persistence,courage, and success amongyou,” she commented. “Manyof you are the first member inyour families to obtain a collegeeducation. Many of you havesacrificed a lot for your degree orcertificate – working long hours,raising families, and still findingtime for classes. Many of you haveworked many, many years to getto this point, taking only one ortwo classes per semester, so thatyou could make a livelihood andafford your education. Some ofyou have overcome incredibleobstacles – such as disabilities,loss of employment, challengingfamily situations – to get yourcredential this evening.”Following enthusiastic applause, Mindy Sanders, 2000Richland graduate and 2009 Distinguished Alumnus of the Year,shared her remarkswith the graduates.“Because of theeducation foundation Icompleted at Richland,I am able to providehigh quality patientcare and serve as arepresentative of thePhysician Assistantprofession. I have evenbeen lucky enough tosave a few lives alongthe way. How amazingit feels to know that Ican make a differenceevery day. Graduates,your journey is trulyPresident Gayle Saunders welcomes 2009 graduates.Mindy Sanders, 2000 RichlandGraduate and 2009 DistinguishedAlumnus of the Year.just beginning. You have been dedicated enough to make it thisfar…do not lose focus now. Remember that you become what youdecide to become. Happiness is what you choose…not what isgiven to you.”The ceremony continued as KathyIrvin, student speaker, stood at thepodium. “Fellow graduates, togetherwe will leave here tonight with doorsto our future opened thanks to whatwe have achieved at Richland. Thosedoors might lead to transferringto another college, to a new job,or improving the employment youalready have. No matter what youchoose to do from this day forward,your future is brighter and yourpossibilities endless. You started atRichland Community College andnow you can go anywhere!”Marcus Brown, Dean ofEnrollment Services, introducedRichland’s Director of Culinary Artsand full-time faculty member ChefLJ Klink. “The education you havereceived in your time at Richland nowbelongs to you. It cannot be takenaway, only built upon. Be proud ofwhat you have accomplished. Takeownership for all of your hard work and turn now toward the futureand what you can make of it. What you will become will be theproduct of hundreds,even thousands ofdecisions. Many ofthem seem to have noconsequence. Don’t befooled. There is alwaysmore to learn, moreyou can be, more to bedone.”In addition, JacobZindel was recognizedat the ceremony asRichland CommunityCollege’s 2009Pacesetter Awardwinner. Read moreabout Jacob on pagethree.Chef LJ Klink, 2009 Faculty Speaker of theYear.2 Spring/Summer 2009