More Than 600 Earn Degrees, Certificates From MCC

MANCHESTER, CT — Manchester Community College Thursday conferred 667 degrees and certificates to the members of the Class of 2023 at its 59th commencement ceremony.

They were awarded to 630 individual graduates.

Graduates hailed from from 84 towns in Connecticut, as well as Florida, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina and Vermont. The youngest graduate was 17 and the
oldest was 75. Honors graduates includes 121 cum laude, 78 magna cum laude and 29 summa cum
laude.

The program areas with the largest number of graduates included business and accounting,
general studies and liberal arts, along with health-related career courses to study.

Nearly 100 students graduated from CSCU Pathway Transfer programs, insuring them junior status at the four Connecticut State Universities and Charter Oak State College.

Jessica Sasser, of Columbia, was named valedictorian of the Class of 23.

The salutatorian is Tammy Silakowski, of Longmeadow, MA.

The two are also recipients of the Board of Regents Medallion for Academic Excellence. The Board of Regents Medallion is awarded at each of the 12 community colleges to graduating students who have earned perfect 4.0 grade point averages and who have completed at least half of their requirements at the college where the degree is being awarded. MCC Class of 2023 recipients of the Board of Regents Medallion also include Kristina Caruso, of Hartford, and Mykenzie Mawdsley, of Andover. All are also graduating summa cum laude.

Sasser told her classmates, "As you enter this next phase I would encourage you to take those leaps of faith and remember to be patient with yourself. There is a term I heard over the weekend that really resonated with me. It was aggressive patience.

"When we have goals and dreams sometimes we want them to come to fruition instantly. But to be aggressively patient we must put in the work, day in and day out. We must remind ourselves why we are here, why we are working two or three jobs, why we study at midnight after the kids have
gone to bed, why we are applying to dozens of jobs even when we get continue to get turned down. In the end it is the dedication, commitment, and perseverance that you put in during the phase of uncertainty or aggressive patience that makes your end goal the most fulfilling."

Commencement speaker Spencer Garrett is a third-generation actor/director/producer whose
career spans 30 years in film, television and theatre. The son and grandson of actors – Spencer
had performing in his blood since childhood. His films include but are not limited to Public
Enemies, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Air Force One, Charlie Wilson’s War, Thank You for
Smoking, The Way, Iron Man 3 and Blonde. This summer he is in production on The Residence, a
White House 'whodunit' for Netflix that will air in December 2023. He currently stars as
legendary NBA and Los Angeles Lakers broadcaster Chick Hearn in HBO's Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers
Dynasty.

In his remarks to the graduates, Garrett said, "This is one of the most important days in your life
because of what it represents. The commitment and sacrifices you made – and your families
made - to better your future should be acknowledged and celebrated."

He continued, "I stand here today and thank goodness that a new generation of leaders, and thinkers, and doers, and dreamers will make their way out into the world and spread some light and joy and leadership to a world that needs your love and attention."

Regent Stephanie Jappinen awarded an Associate in Human Letters, Honoris Causa degree to
Ocean Vuong in absentia. Vuong is the author of The New York Times bestselling poetry
collection, "Time is a Mother," and The New York Times bestselling novel, "On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous," which has been translated into 37 languages.

A recipient of a 2019 MacArthur Genius Grant, he is also the author of the critically acclaimed poetry collection, "Night Sky with Exit Wounds," a New York Times Top 10 Book of 2016, and the winner of numerous poetry and literature prizes. "

His honors also include fellowships from renowned foundations that support the arts. Born in Saigon, Vietnam and raised in Hartford in a working class family of nail salon and factory laborers, he attended MCC before transferring to Pace University. Without completing his first term, he dropped out and enrolled at Brooklyn College, where he graduated with a BA in 19-century American literature. He subsequently received his MFA in poetry from NYU. He is tenured Professor in the Creative Writing MFA Program at NYU.