MAYHEW — Twenty-one students enrolled in East Mississippi Community College’s Adult Education Launch Pad recently earned their high school equivalency diplomas, with 15 of the students participating in a graduation ceremony that took place May 25 in the Lyceum Auditorium on the college’s Golden Triangle campus.
Adult Education students who participated in the graduation ceremony included Webster Countians Dalton Bingham and Madison Velazquez.
Members of the Adult Education Launch Pad hosted a reception and lunch for the graduates before the graduation ceremony.
The guest speaker was Angela Turner-Ford, who represents District 16 in the Mississippi State Senate. She is a former prosecuting attorney for the city of West Point. Turner-Ford congratulated the graduates and encouraged them to work to obtain any new goals they may set for themselves.
“We should enjoy our successes, and at the same time we know that we have to apply ourselves because the workforce, the landscape, is different than it was 20 or 30 years ago,” Turner-Ford said.
Adult Education Director Tshurah Dismuke said she was amazed at the tenacity and perseverance of the students.
“My challenge to you graduates is to continue showing up, growing and to always give back,” Dismuke said. “Completing your high school equivalency diploma is not the end. It is a new beginning.”
EMCC Executive Director of The Communiversity and Workforce Development Dr. David Campbell presided over the confirmation of the graduates. Attendees of the graduation included EMCC board of trustees member and Columbus Mayor Keith Gaskin.
