Submitted by South Puget Sound Community College
South Puget Sound Community College (SPSCC) will celebrate this year’s 1,229 graduates at the 2023 Commencement Ceremony on June 17 at 10 a.m. outside at The Evergreen State College’s Red Square. The ceremony will also be live-streamed on SPSCC’s YouTube channel.
For its 58th commencement ceremony, the college will award 1,047 associate degrees and 167 certificates to the graduating class. Additionally, the college will award 127 GED awards and 152 high school diplomas. One-fourth of the students are graduating with honors (3.75 GPA and above) and 392 graduates are part of the Running Start program.
The ceremony will begin with a processional by the Puget Sound Firefighters Pipes and Drums and a welcome by SPSCC President Dr. Timothy Stokes. The SPSCC Chamber Singers and faculty instrumentalists will then perform the college’s alma mater, “The Waves of South Puget Sound”. Staff and student leaders will share their messages with the graduating class followed by the student speaker and the presentation of the 2023 Outstanding Student Awards. Following the presentation of class and diplomas, the ceremony will close with the ceremonial turning of the tassel.
This year’s student speaker, Ariyanna Fernandez, will share about the importance of community and having a group of supporters throughout a student’s educational career. “Your negative experiences and your feelings that try to drag you down? They cannot define you or stop you from continuing on your journey; because you are not alone,” she said. Her speech reminds graduates that, no matter what obstacles they face, they are never alone when they have community.
Parking, event information, and more can be found on the Commencement webpage. The ceremony program can also be found online.
Graduates, family, and friends can help share the success and achievements of SPSCC’s class of 2023 on social media with #spscc.
