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Penn College students ‘celebrate their successes’

The skies outside may have started to cloud over, but inside the Community Arts Center, not even the possibility of rain could have dampened the excitement of the friends and families waiting for the first group of students in Pennsylvania College of Technology's 2022 graduating class to process down the aisles.

The first of three ceremonies was held Friday afternoon with the remaining two scheduled for Saturday to accommodate the nearly 640 students who were planning to march in the ceremonies. In all, nearly 750 students had petitioned to graduate following the spring 2022 semester.

Student speaker for Friday's ceremony was Caila Nicole Flanagan, of Danville.

There were no expectations that this would be a sedate ceremony, as Dr. Davie Jane Gilmour, president of the college, told the students and those in the packed theater.

"Generally speaking, we would tell you to please silence your phones because this is a solemn ceremony, filled with dignity and reverence," Gilmour said.

"This is the Pennsylvania College of Technology -- we do things a little different. So I would prefer not to hear any songs like the new 'Top Gun' theme...but I am going to take the first picture because that's the way we do it, so feel free to, within reason, capture the moment of joy I see out there on social media, #PCTgrad," she said.

Gilmour, who is retiring at the end of the school year, was introduced by Michael J. Reed, who has been chosen to succeed her as president.

Before the students began their walk across the stage, Gilmour quoted Benjamin Disraeli, an 18th century British Prime Minister, "There is no education like adversity."

"If you believe that to be true -- and I certainly do -- that you and your peers sitting before us today on this campus and college campuses across the country may have received more of an education than you bargained for," Gilmour said.

"You kept your focus. You did the work. You satisfied the requirements for your degrees and your certificates. You rose above the clamor of relentless pursuit for your career aspirations and your dreams. Today, we pay tribute to the perseverance you demonstrated and we celebrate your successes," she said.

The students then received their diplomas and certificates, amid the cheers of family members and friends on hand to share in this moment of joy. Who could forget Paige Hunter as she twirled on stage -- somebody give that girl an award for enthusiasm. Oh, they already did -- the Colgate (S.T.A.R.) Student Total Achievement Recognition Award for a graduate who exhibits enthusiasm and pursuit of excellence in dental hygiene and a dedication to patients.

There were hugs. Instructors on stage blowing kisses to graduates, a testimony of the close relationship that had developed over the time the students had spent at the college.

In her closing remarks, Gilmour referenced that relationship and how the students had not only been changed by their time at the school, but how they had changed the lives of those who had been charged with teaching them.

She also returned to her opening remarks citing the challenges these students had faced, spending two years of their college career dealing with a pandemic, the resulting quarantines, masks and isolation as well as the challenges of what she called their "academic rigor."

"Walking across the stage today were nurses, web designers, brewing and fermentation majors, accountants, graphic designers," she said, to name some of the academic majors represented at the ceremony.

Referring to the faculty seated on the stage behind her, Gilmour said, "They invested with you at the same time. And one thing I'm not sure that graduates fully understand is how much you impacted their lives, my life, all of our lives."

"There weren't always easy days -- in fact, a lot of hard days. But, you succeeded. You have a future in front of you and you have the ability to create a new chapter in your life and we don't get those times very often, so make it count," she said.

"Take what you have today, a gift of the future, and make a difference. I have no doubt that you are capable of doing that," she added.