Hopkinsville Community College celebrated the 2018 graduates at the 52nd commencement ceremony Friday night at the James Bruce Convention Center and Hopkinsville native received the Spirit Cup.
Several recognitions were given throughout the ceremony, including to those who were serving or had served in the Armed Forces and to first generation graduates. There were around 768 graduates in this year’s graduating class, which earned 1,198 credentials, including 502 two-year degrees, 653 certificates, and 43 diplomas. The youngest graduate was 18 years old and the oldest was 75.
HCC Adult Education Instructor Eva Self was the guest speaker and she told the graduates the story of how she became paralyzed from the waist down. She says now is the time to celebrate and urged them to always try harder but to not be afraid to ask for help.
President Dr. Alissa Young says she hopes for all the graduates’ continued success in life and that they remember where they got their start.
The recipient of this year’s prestigious Spirit Cup Award was Joseph Harris. Harris graduated with an associate in arts degree with a 3.87 overall GPA. He is a member of both Phi Theta Kappa and The National Society of Leadership and Success honor societies. In addition to being an HCC student, Mr. Harris is also an employee of the College who decided to begin his life as a student after over a decade of employment on campus.