Middlesex County College graduates wave to friends and family as they make their way to their seats during the May 17 commencement exercises on the Edison campus. JEFF GRANIT staff Some 1,408 graduates bid farewell last week to Middlesex County College during the college’s 45th annual commencement.
Jessica Soto of Old Bridge presided as valedictorian during the ceremony, held May 17 outside on the quad, in the middle of campus.
“I do not know if anyone here will cure cancer or rock the world … but I do know that right at this moment, we are all pretty incredible people,” she told the class of 2012. “At this moment, we are exactly the same, 2012 MCC graduates, excited, scared … but ready.”
Soto is the co-president of the college’s chapter of Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society. She made community service a major priority of the organization. She is married with two children and was working as the manager of a law firm when she decided to go back to school.
Members of the Middlesex County College class of 2012 proceed to their seats at the start of the May 17 graduation ceremony in Edison. PHOTOS BY JEFF GRANIT staff She plans to transfer to New York University and go into public relations in the fashion industry. She graduated MCC with a perfect 4.0 grade-point average.
“We all have unique stories, unique perspectives,” she said. “Before attending MCC, I was the manager of a law firm for six years. I was married and just had my second child. School seemed like a farfetched goal, one that could not compete with my well-paying law firm job.” She didn’t love her job, though. “We want to work and be proud and love what we do,” she said. “And so I came here.”
Soto said her time spent at Middlesex was a time of personal growth.
Middlesex County College class of 2012 valedictorian Jessica Soto addresses the audience as commencement exercises get under way. “For me, Phi Theta Kappa was a big part of that growth,” she said. “I can remember some amazing moments that I will always cherish — hanging cranes for the tsunami fundraiser, screaming at the top of my lungs during the breast cancer walk on campus, and watching my incredibly talented classmates’ break-dancing in the quad during the Student Activities Fair … and mostly, I [will] remember the friends I have made.”
Approximately 600 members of the class of 2012 participated in the commencement exercises, representing the 325 graduates of August 2011, 407 of January 2012, and 676 of May 2012. Participants included several students who fulfilled the requirements for more than one degree or certificate during this academic year.
Charlie Hahn, 26, of New Brunswick, said his time spent at Middlesex was amazing.
“I fell in love, and it will be hard to move on,” he said.
Hahn is the college’s salutatorian. He is a veteran of the U.S. Air Force and a member of Phi Theta Kappa, the Veterans and Service Members Association, the Asian Student Club, the Korean Student Association and Democracy House, the college’s service learning program.
Hahn said that as part of the Democracy House, he was able to do 300 hours of volunteer work through AmeriCorps.
“I met my girlfriend [Elizabeth Vazquez] through Democracy House, and she was actually last year’s salutatorian, which is pretty ironic,” he said.
Hahn grew up in Florida and had attended a community college there.
“I was not the best student and I was not focused at all,” he said. “That was when I decided to enter the Air Force in 2006, and I served until 2010 as a senior airman. The Air Force gave me direction and motivation. A friend told me that Rutgers was a prestigious school, so I moved up to New Jersey and entered Middlesex in the fall of 2010 with intentions of transferring to Rutgers.”
In two weeks, Hahn will start taking summer classes at Rutgers.
“I have loved my time at MCC,” he said. “I am looking to study economics with a possible double major in statistics.”
Deborah Fade of the Monmouth Junction section of South Brunswick said it took her a long time to make the decision to go back to school.
“I was very hesitant … it has been 30 years since I have been to school,” she said. “I did not go to college, and after high school I wanted to work as a copywriter in an advertising department. I entered the business and could not move away from a secretary position because the [copywriter] position required a degree.”
Fade came to Middlesex, and in four years she has earned her English degree. She is the first student to complete the full honors program at the college.
“It has been fantastic,” she said. “I would take classes during the day while my kids are at school. It also gave me a chance to interact with the younger crowd here.”
Fade received a full scholarship to the College of New Jersey, Ewing, to study English.
“At Middlesex, I fell in love with English literature, I fell in love with Shakespeare,” she said.
Fade encouraged all students to take honors classes because of the small environment.
“You get to be close to the professors and you get to go on field trips,” she said.
Karen L. Hays, vice president for academic and student affairs, presided. Greetings were delivered by Joann La Perla-Morales, college president; Dorothy K. Power, chairman of the Board of Trustees; Christopher Rafano, Middlesex County Freeholder director; and Charles Tomaro, freeholder liaison to the college. Arthur T. Peterson of the Department ofAccounting, Business and Legal Studies led the academic processional as grand marshal .
La Perla-Morales, sixth president of the college, conferred degrees and certificates to the graduates, who were introduced by dean Marilyn Laskowski-Sachnoff and dean David Edwards. Hays presented the candidates for graduation and conferred the Frank M. ChambersAward forAcademic Excellence to nine graduates in recognition of their earning a 4.0 grade point average. Soto and Hahn are Chambers Award winners and are joined by SylwiaAdamczyk of Piscataway, Diana Castano of PerthAmboy, Megan Giles of Woodbridge, Robert L. Kenney III of Montclair, Michelle Kniep of Metuchen, Jodi Beth Silverman of North Brunswick, and Anthony V. Zecca of Edison.