Montgomery College to Celebrate Student Graduation on May 24
Montgomery College will celebrate its 66th commencement ceremony on Friday, May 24 at 10 a.m. The event will honor graduates from the College’s three campuses in Montgomery County, Md.—Germantown, Rockville, and Takoma Park/Silver Spring—along with apprenticeship graduates in Workforce Development & Continuing Education programs. Of the more than 3,000 students who have completed graduation requirements for associate’s degrees, apprenticeships or certificates this academic year, more than 800 will participate in the ceremony, which will be held on the Rockville Campus athletic field.
“Truly, one of the great rewards in my job as president is being able to experience the excitement our graduating students feel as they walk across that stage,” Montgomery College President DeRionne P. Pollard said. “I applaud our students for their hard work and dedication to achieving their associate’s degrees. For our Montgomery College faculty and staff, commencement also provides an opportunity to celebrate the achievement of our mission: empowering students to change their lives.”
Norman R. Augustine—retired chairman and CEO of the board of Lockheed Martin Corporation—will deliver the commencement address. Prior to joining Martin Marietta, he served as both assistant secretary and undersecretary of the US Department of the Army. He also was a professor at Princeton University, his alma mater.
He served on the boards of Black & Decker (now Stanley Black & Decker), Procter & Gamble and ConocoPhillips. Augustine was chairman and principal officer of the American Red Cross for nine years, chairman of the National Academy of Engineering, president and chairman of the Association of the United States Army, chairman of the Aerospace Industries Association, president of the Boy Scouts of America and chairman of the Defense Science Board. He is a trustee emeritus of Johns Hopkins University, a former member of the board of trustees of Princeton University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and is a regent of the University System of Maryland.
Four Montgomery College Students Selected to Address Fellow Students
The commencement ceremony will also feature speeches by four graduating students who have been selected as the College’s Board of Trustees Scholars. The scholars, who earn an award for future tuition or educational costs, represent each of the three campuses and Workforce Development & Continuing Education. This year’s Board of Trustees Scholars are:
Evelyn Zavala Morales, Workforce Development & Continuing Education Apprenticeship Scholar
Zavala Morales is completing a four-year apprenticeship program as an HVACR technician. She is graduating with a 3.86 grade point average. She is enrolled in the Air Conditioning Contractors of America, National Capital Chapter (ACCA/NCC) program at Montgomery College. Originally from Guayaquil, Ecuador, she came to the United States for a year in 2002 as a religious missionary. She intends to complete an associate’s degree in building trades technology and to pursue a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.
Kathleen M. Burns, Germantown Campus Scholar Burns, a general studies major and a member of Phi Theta Kappa, is graduating with a 4.0 grade point average. She is currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in speech-language pathology and audiology at Towson University. After completing her degree in spring 2014, she plans to pursue a clinical doctorate in audiology. She would like to travel overseas to volunteer with children with hearing loss, specifically in China, from where her younger sister was adopted. Her long-term goal is to work with military personnel who have suffered hearing loss.
Joel Collins Sati, Rockville Campus Scholar
Collins Sati, a general studies major and a member of Phi Theta Kappa, is graduating with a 4.0 grade point average. He is completing his studies in the Renaissance Scholars honors program at Montgomery College. Sati’s extracurricular accomplishments include serving as vice president of the Rockville Student Senate, chair of the Student Senate’s Interclub Council, outreach coordinator for CASA de Maryland’s Youth Committee and political pressure coordinator for Justice for Students in America. A native of Nairobi, Kenya, he provided advocacy for the Maryland Dream Act in several publications.
James E. Hazelrig, Takoma Park/Silver Spring Campus Scholar
Hazelrig, an aerospace engineering major and a member of Phi Theta Kappa, is graduating with a 4.0 grade point average. His academic journey started 12 years ago at Carnegie Mellon University, but he wasn’t prepared for the rigors of college. When he found out his wife was pregnant with their first child in 2011, Hazelrig started at Montgomery College and tutored in chemistry while working as an IT consultant for a building company. He plans to attend the University of Maryland to pursue a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering with an astronautics focus. Honorary Degrees Will Go to Nina H. Clarke, Kenneth C. Cook, Sally Rudney
Montgomery College will award honorary degrees to Nina H. Clarke, Kenneth C. Cook and Sally Rudney. Norman Augustine will also receive an honorary degree as the commencement speaker. A retired educator, Nina Clarke is a native of Montgomery County and a product of Montgomery County Public Schools. She served for 36 years as a teacher, specialist and administrator in both segregated and integrated schools in Montgomery County. Clarke began her career teaching in segregated elementary schools in Montgomery County. Prior to integration, she served as the first black delegate to the Integrated Teachers Association in Montgomery County.
In 1961, when Sandy Spring Consolidated closed because of integration, Clarke moved to Hungerford Elementary in Rockville. In 1962, the Board of Education selected her to be the first black teacher specialist in reading/language arts. She then taught first grade at an experimental school, Spring Mill Elementary, in Silver Spring, where she taught for four years. In 1968, she began serving as the principal at Aspen Hill Elementary until her retirement.
Clarke received a teaching certificate from Bowie State College, a bachelor’s degree from Hampton Institute and a master’s degree from Boston University.
Kenneth Cook is president and vice chairman of Revere Bank. He is also a member of the bank’s board of directors. His banking career spans more than 30 years of serving businesses and individuals throughout the greater Washington region. Prior to joining Revere Bank in 2010, Cook served as regional president, suburban Washington, for PNC Bank, where he led a major transition during and after PNC Bank’s acquisition of Mercantile Bankshares Corporation in 2007.
Cook holds an MBA from Loyola College, Baltimore, and a bachelor of science in business administration from Towson University, where he graduated magna cum laude.
Sally Rudney has worked in the field of philanthropy for more than 28 years, including 17 years as the founding executive director of The Community Foundation for Montgomery County, a regional affiliate of The Community Foundation for the National Capital Region. She left The Community Foundation in February 2013 to begin her own philanthropic advisory practice. Today, she works with families, corporate executives and trustees of private foundations to help them find deep satisfaction in their giving, while making a significant difference in the community. She helps donors develop and implement strategic philanthropy plans, and involves their children and grandchildren in meaningful giving.
Rudney earned a bachelor’s degree with honors from Brown University and an MBA from Yale University.
Commencement Will Air on Montgomery College Television, Cable Channel 10
Families and friends of the graduates in Montgomery County can watch the commencement ceremony live on Montgomery College Television, cable channel 10. The ceremony will also be available afterward on YouTube at www.youtube.com/montgomerycollege.
For more information about commencement, visit: www.montgomerycollege.edu/commencement.
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Montgomery College is a public, open admissions community college with campuses in Germantown, Rockville, and Takoma Park/Silver Spring, plus workforce development/continuing education centers and off-site programs throughout Montgomery County, Md. The College serves more than 60,000 students a year, through both credit and noncredit programs, in more than 150 areas of study.
