Graduation 2014

Northwest Vista College’s 2014 graduation ceremony was different this year.

For the first time in the college's history of graduations, instead of a sea of green, students donned purple caps and gowns. This year’s ceremony also marked the last graduation for NVC President Jackie Claunch, as she is retiring at the end of this summer.

This year’s event was also one of the largest graduations with 535 students walking across the stage, which is a 12 percent increase over the amount of students, who walked across the stage last year.

“Based on the number of graduation applications, I believe there will be an increase in the number of graduates,” said Roque Heredia, NVC's senior coordinator of Degree Completion. “The official number of students who have earned certificates and/or degrees won't be known until mid-June.”

Last year, 1,426 students received associate degrees and certificates.

Vice President of Student Success Debi Gaitan, said “commencement night is always a special night filled with joy, excitement, pride and accomplishment. I want to thank all of you for serving our students and one another; and working together to host a great event.”

Like past graduations, many of the students had personal tribulations that meant earning a degree even more special.

Leukemia survivor Dylan Jared Barrera achieved his goal of getting an associate degree despite grueling chemotherapy treatments that prolonged him achieving his goal. See his story in the Express-News.

Returning student and mom of two young children, Heather Lynn Burch, gave the graduation speech and told her story of going from a GED and fearful of math to taking advanced-level math courses.

Another student – 78 years young – proved that age is just a number. She walked away from the Freeman Coliseum with three, yes three associate degrees.

And while the Spurs basketball team was about to start a much-watched NBA Playoff Round just several hundred feet from the Freeman Coliseum, this didn’t stop NVC graduate and Spurs' Team Energy dancer, Jessica Patino. She ran to the coliseum to get her degree and made it back to the AT&T Center before the start of the game.

To see more pictures from the ceremony, go to graduation album created in the NVC Facebook page at this link.