Lorain County Community College honored 1,091 graduates during its 45th annual commencement ceremony, Saturday, May 17th in the LCCC Ewing Activities Center. United States Senator Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, gave this year’s commencement address. Brown is the first U.S. Senator from Lorain County.
In congratulating the graduates, he told them they now have the opportunity to give something back to the community. He also praised LCCC. “LCCC is the fastest growing college in the entire state,” said Brown. “What I know as a member of the Senate Education Committee is that Lorain County Community College is one of the best community colleges in the entire United States of America.”
This year, 48 students received two degrees, 11 received three degrees and one received four degrees for a total of 1,164 degrees being awarded. LCCC’s University Partnership honored 323 additional students with bachelor’s and or master’s degrees from our eight University partners.
The first class of Early College High School students also graduated. Thirty students from Elyria earned both their high school diplomas and their associate of arts degrees. Early College High School is an opportunity for students entering the ninth grade to participate in a combined high school and college experience with the goal of earning a high school diploma and college associate degree at the same time. They must be first-generation college students.
Also, six Post Secondary Enrollment Options (PSEO) students graduated from LCCC with associate of arts degrees. The PSEO program allows high students to earn college credits while in high school. In this program, students enroll in courses at LCCC and receive dual credit for high school requirements and college.
The commencement theme was “Transformation.”
“We are living in a time of transformation,” said Dr. Roy Church, LCCC President. “Our economy is being transformed from a national economy to a global economy. To compete, we must have a population that is educated and well-trained to play its role in this global economy. Lorain County Community College continues to provide the education and training that will help transform the lives of more and more people in Lorain County and the region.”