They came from all 14 counties of Vermont, nine states and ten countries for this event. And it was an event they’d been looking forward to for years. In total, 614 students graduated from Community College of Vermont this year, marking a record for the College. CCV is Vermont’s second largest college, serving 7,000 students each semester at twelve locations around the state and online.
‘It is truly a unique connection CCV has, being able to bring people from all corners of the state together to celebrate the achievements of the graduating class of 2013,’student speaker and Barre resident Karri Benoir told the audience on Saturday.
Benoir went on to tell her classmates about her journey, one in which foster care, juvenile detention center stays, and a homeless stint were involved. In short, Benoir described her life prior to CCV as nothing short of a ‘train wreck.’ But that changed after she started at the Community College of Vermont, and in the two years leading up to her graduation, she’s learned a lot, and that’s what she chose to share with the nearly 3,000 attendees.
‘Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t; because you can,’Benoir said. ‘You’ve made it here today, you’ve obtained a college degree, and many of you are the first ones in your family to do so.’
Benoir, who graduated with an associate degree in liberal studies and plans to enter Johnson State College in the fall, wasn’t exaggerating. Sixty-five percent of CCV’s 2013 graduates are first-generation college students, and every one of them seemed to be walking on air as they entered Norwich University’s Shapiro Field House, a point radio personality and author Tom Bodett echoed in his address.
‘Two-thirds of you are the first generation in your family to graduate college,’Bodett said. ‘So not only have you raised your game, you’ve changed the whole heritage of your families.’
Bodett went on emphasize what Gov. Peter Shumlin had asked the graduates moments earlier. Both asked the Class of 2013 to stay in Vermont, raise families and help to strengthen the communities that they are a part of.
‘We need not just the knowledge you've acquired here at CCV, but the wisdom you've gained through your incredibly diverse lives,’Bodett said. ‘By the way, do you know the difference between knowledge and wisdom? Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a kind of fruit. Wisdom is not using it in a fruit salad.’
CCV is Vermont’s second largest college, serving over 7,000 students each semester. With 12 locations and extensive online learning options, our students don’t have to travel far from their communities to access 20 degree and six certificate programs, workforce, secondary and continuing education opportunities, and academic and veterans support services.
Caption: VT Gov. Peter Shumlin addresses CCV's Class of 2013 at Saturday's commencement ceremony. Six hundred fourteen students graduated from the college this year, a record number for CCV. Photo by Josh Larkin