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As students moved the tassel on their mortar board from the right side to the left, one era of life ends as another begins for hundreds of DeKalb Technical College graduates today. The 2009 Commencement Ceremony for DeKalb Tech was filled with pageantry and tradition as well as humor and a little apprehension mixed in with a healthy dose of reality.
The commencement address was given by the Honorable Horace Johnson, Superior Court Judge of the Alcovy Circuit in Newton County. He urged the graduates to get involved in their community. “I challenge each one of you as you leave here today to get plugged in. Whether you plug in at your neighborhood school, your neighborhood community center, your church, wherever, plug in,” says Johnson. Not only was his brief message a call-to-action for the class of 2009, but Judge Johnson also called upon the words of former Morehouse College President and noted scholar, Benjamin Elijah Mays, to inspire that action. “The tragedy in life does not lie in not reaching your goal, the tragedy lies in not having a goal to reach. It isn’t a calamity, I suggest to you, to die with dreams unfulfilled, but it is a calamity to not have a dream at all. It is not a disaster to be unable to capture your ideals but it is a disaster to have no ideal to capture,” Johnson says quoting the writings of Mays.
That message fell on the ears of more than 300 diploma and degree students who took part in today’s graduation ceremony. DeKalb Tech’s Admissions Director, Terry Richardson, says 544 students met the requirements and were eligible for graduation this year. Among those graduates is Leslie Evans. She, like many others, has unfulfilled career dreams. But today she is one step closer to making it a dream-come-true. Two years ago she found herself working at a grocery store. While her income was low, her desire to follow her dreams was high. Despite being partially blind Evans overcame her disability, she says, with the help of supportive DeKalb Tech faculty. She’s not hard-pressed to find a job just yet. In September she’ll give birth to a baby boy and nurture him for a few months before beginning another daunting task. She says the first of next year brings a new challenge. “Then I’ll start looking for a job,” says Evans.
The job market is tight. It is something weighing heavy on the minds of many who now have diploma or degree in hand. Pamela Daniel is one of the accounting graduates today. She began working on her degree six years ago at DeKalb Tech. “But I didn’t finish because I had to get a job,” says Daniel. That job was at the Ford assembly plant in Hapeville Georgia. In October of 2006 the plant closed, eliminating 1,745 jobs including Daniel’s position. That’s when she re-enrolled. So did her cousin, Gina Sheppard, who also lost her job at the Ford plant. Sheppard says, “The company decided they’d give us funding to go back to school and I’ve always wanted to go to nursing school and be a nurse, so I decided I’d try that. So that’s how I ended up here.” Both are part of the class of 2009. But the family connection doesn’t end there. Daniel’s Daughter, Chasidy Mitchell is also wearing cap and gown today. She is graduating with her Criminal Justice degree with hopes of turning it into a career as a parole officer.
As the students file into the sanctuary to receive their diploma or degree, the air is filled with music. “Pomp & Circumstance” bellows from the organ as camera flashes flicker from the supportive crowed gathered in the audience. Graduates are filled with enthusiasm and excitement as well as a tinge of job prospect anxiety. Many are not quite sure what the future holds, but they’re certain it is better than their past. “This is the most exciting day of the academic year.” Says Dr. Robin Hoffman, as she opens the Commencement Ceremony. Her enthusiasm is echoed by other speakers during the ceremony, including Gina Smith. Smith is the 2009 DeKalb Tech GOAL Student of the year and a Paralegal Studies graduate.
DeKalb Technical College, a unit of the Technical College System of Georgia, promotes a student-centered environment for lifelong learning and development, encompassing academic and technical education for employment in a global community. The college has 8 centers of learning in DeKalb, Newton, Rockdale, and Morgan counties. Established in 1961, DeKalb Technical College currently has more than 4,000 students enrolled in diploma or degree programs and more than 9,000 in adult education classes. Academic Technical programs at DeKalb Tech cover more than 100 different occupations. For more information visit our website at www.dekalbtech.edu.
