Commencement, Capping & Pinning schedule announced

Nearly 400 people will graduate in ceremonies at Seward County Community College the weekend of May 6, in three separate events. The weekend marks the 46th annual graduating class for the institution, and features speaker Will Ponder, a 2007 alum of SCCC. 

Ponder’s story of how he interrupted his college education to enter the work force after just one semester of college, then returned to academia to complete degrees at SCCC and K-State, inform his work as the JAG coordinator at Liberal High School. 

“We talk about college in my classroom on a daily basis,” Ponder said, “so it’s something that I think about all the time. Even now, I ask myself ‘how did I get here?’ and the answer connects to the people I surrounded myself with. SCCC was a big part of that.”

Preparations are already under way for the big weekend at SCCC. Events on the schedule include:

* Nursing Capping and Pinning ceremony for first- and second-year nursing students. This event takes place at 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 5, in the Greenhouse gymnasium on the main campus. A reception for graduates, friends, and family will be held immediately following in the second-floor conference room of the Student Union, SW 229.

* The 46th Annual Commencement Ceremony at 10 a.m. Saturday, May 6, in the Greenhouse gymnasium on the main campus. The event typically draws a full crowd, and on-campus parking often fills the lot. Following the ceremony, the public is invited to a reception with light refreshments on the main campus green. 

* Kansas State High School Diploma (GED) graduation ceremony at 3 p.m. Saturday, May 6, in the Greenhouse gymnasium on the main campus. Colvin Adult Learning Center and SCCC alum Amandria Hartnett will be the guest spearker, and current GED graduate Aspen Jaramillo will be the class speaker. Reception follows in the Student Union.