Published On: Tue, May 15th, 2018

Palm Beach State College Awards More Than 3,200 Degrees and Certificates

Palm Beach State College awarded more than 3,200 degrees and certificates during two commencement ceremonies May 9 that drew applause, laughter and even some tears from the spring graduates who range in age from 17 to 76.

Florida Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam was the keynote speaker at the afternoon ceremony for the 1,839 Associate in Arts transfer degree recipients. The group included 35 dual enrollment students who earned their degrees while in high school and more than 30 graduates of the Dr. Floyd F. Koch Honors College.

Putman told the graduates that their new degree represents sacrifice. “There should be no question in your mind that all those late nights, and all that perseverance, and all that hard work, and …all that sacrifice, it was worth every minute. This degree is part of your ticket to the American Dream; for some of you it will result in the next step of your education or the job or promotion that you’ve been working for.”

State Sen. Kevin Rader, was the keynote speaker at the morning ceremony for the combined 1,383 graduates of the Associate in Science, Bachelor of Applied Science and Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree programs and the certificate programs. With this class, the College has now awarded 2,000 bachelor’s degrees since it began offering them in 2009.

Rader, who was elected to the Florida Senate District 81 in 2016 and previously served four years in the Florida House, said when we first ran for a House seat in 2000, he lost. He said he then ran for a seat on the Palm Beach County School Board and lost again. His also lost his first bid for a Senate seat in 2010.

“It would have been easy to give up on my dreams,’’ he said. “I persevered,’’ he said, encouraging graduates to stay the course on their path to reach their goals.

Among the other commencement speakers were PBSC President Ava L. Parker, Carolyn L. William, chairperson of the PBSC District Board of Trustees and Charles Cross, Jr., past chairman and former PBSC trustee.

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