Three Rivers celebrates new graduates
New London — If Saturday's Dixie-style heat and humidity could not wilt a square-top mortar board — and it couldn't — the weather certainly wasn't going to oppress the spirits of 665 graduates from Norwich's Three Rivers Community College.
Gathered along with friends and family inside the Garde Arts Center Saturday afternoon, many members of the Class of 2013 participated in a two-hour ceremony that not only kicked in the door of their respective futures, but also marked the final graduation ceremony presided over by outgoing college President Grace S. Jones.
Before the event began, gowned students hugged one another and milled about as they were organized into proper order for the diploma processional.
Montville's Kaitlyn Barnhouser said she'd entered Three Rivers with uncertain plans. After majoring in mechanical engineering, she now hopes to work at Electric Boat or perhaps further her education in the field.
Meanwhile, parents, siblings and friends streamed in the front doors of the Garde. They were a diverse bunch attired in everything from neo-formal wear, military uniforms and Kentucky Derby-esque vernal finery to cut-offs, Hawaiian shirts and, in the case of one trio, unseasonal leather jackets with a SICKBOYS/NORWICH logo and the image of a skull in a jester cap.
From a strategic location in the lobby, an inspired fundraising gesture was underway that recalled grocery store floral arrangements designed to rescue last-minute shoppers on Mother's Day morning. Members of the Three Rivers Alumni Association manned a kiosk that sold roses in single- and three-pack arrangements. Business was brisk.
Overseeing the flower sales was Sandy Bean, a longtime member of the alumni association who is the facilities scheduler at Three Rivers.
"We've been selling roses as long as I can remember," Bean said. "It's energizing, not just because the money goes to provide scholarships, but also just because it's exciting to watch (the graduates). It makes you feel old and young at the same time. I guess it all goes full circle."
Once faculty, staff, dignitaries and the students were seated, Jones delivered opening remarks that, along with her actual commencement address a bit later on, mixed optimism and excitement as well as a tone of sweet melancholy that reflected her imminent retirement after a half-century as an educator and 12 years leading Three Rivers.
"This is your day and your time," Jones said. "You've demonstrated the commitment, effort and true grit to reach this point. You have learned with each other and come to know and enjoy the passion of learning. Enjoy it ... (but) bring change to your world. Give back, use your voice, do not just accept what's acceptable. Reach for exceptional."
In his Greetings from the Faculty, professor of economics and political science Philip Mayer Jr., said life isn't just about accomplishment but also wellness. He emphasized patience and respect for others "in a world that has become increasingly about instant gratification."
He drew laughs when he said, "You've got to handle stress. Is it really worth it to hold a grudge against some jerk until you have a heart attack or a stroke?"
Class valedictorian Regene A. Abandula, who came to the United States three years ago from the Philippines, said she had insecurities when she first started at Three Rivers but, through family, friends, faculty and God, learned a particularly important lesson.
"Don't be afraid to ask for help," Abandula said. "There are always people willing to help, and you find out it's a wonderful thing to learn. Just ask for help — even if it's a little help from Google."
r.koster@theday.com
Class of 2013
BozrahAnthony Baule, Samantha Clarke, Sean Skinner, Crystal Corriveau.
CanterburyBrian Ayers, Patricia Clauson, Katherine DePolito, Zachary Epes, Joshua Evans, Amber Gilbert, Benjamin Gilbert, Benjamin Golnik, Jessica Jordan, Brendan Loughead, Andrew MacDonald, Christopher Olszewski, Richard Ross, Scott Tarbox, Andrea Tetreault, Nicholas Thibodeau.
ColchesterCarolynne DeLoreto, Michael Dixon II, Lauren Farrell, Julia Fischer, Tracy Fox, Zachary Gadomski, Richard Hauzeur III, Lidia Karolak, Sean Kelly, Cuihong Kuang, Alison Lovejoy, Janice Maynard, Justin Miller, Patricia Moody, Daric Parker, Kerrylee Pelkey, Lisa Pierce, Susan Savidakis, Bernice Smith, Stephanie Victorero, Tracy Wood.
East LymeChristopher Bayreuther, Robyn Beachy, Alexander Bentley, Heather Burdick, Erin Capozza, Courtney Dart, Jennifer Esposito, Jason Gallup, Richard Giguere, Karly Grillo, Mohammad Hasan, Jay Jennett, Debra Lally, Ruth Mattison, Jennifer Mohr, Krystal Monty, Karen Mullins, Ariel Nicolosi, Tanya Radics, Alyssa Roscover, Peter Scanlon, Leonard Schumann, Megan Shaw, Donald Smith, George Smith, Matthew Stedman, Lisa Steele, Kate Stelik, Vitaly VanDeusen, James Vasquez, Edward Waido Jr., William Wooldridge, Duane Yuhas, Paula Ziolkowski.
GriswoldNicolas Ayer, Chelsea Boyes, Neil Brokaw Jr., Yun Chen, Terry Cholewa, Crystal Cianci, Megan Conrad, Edward Duerr, Sandra Dumas, Kelsey Frechette, Sulma Fuentes, Carolee Garvey, Ashley Guimond, Traci Gwiazdowski, Saige Hardin, Emily Hurlock, Edwin Krakowiak, Steven Mann, Kyle Manuzzi, Gary Mather, Lindsey Mazzei, Keri McClain, Brandon McNeil, Ryan Mejza, Jennifer Morey, Cecelia Norwid, Ronald Shaw, Sarah Shetland, Lauren Smith, Jamie Webster, Cassaundra-Anne White.
GrotonRegene Abandula, Sean Aimetti, Jose Almonte, Michael Archambeault, Clinton Avery, Cody Avery, Lanae Blethen, Monica Cartagena, Samuel Cebriwsky, Latoya Chayim, Jessica Coen, Yira Colon, Caitlin Cook, Dana Dowd, Mallory Doyle, Lori Edwards, Jose Flores, Robert Gannon, Matthew Gentry, Carrie Gregory, Sophia Haskins, Jessica Hill, Parvathy Iyer, Octavia Jenkins, Pride Kelledes, Lori Kelley, Leonard Kimes, Michael Korten, Melanie Krause, Liza Lamperelli, Ryiah Langway, John Leckie, Fenty Lee, Krysta Lounsbury, Ana Lucia Martinez, Joshua Measimer, Samantha Morin, Michael Nabung, Jesusa Nicholson, Kyle Ordonio, Kimberly Parker, Ernstson Paul, Katelyn Pink, Sara Psimer, Daniel Reasor, Christine Rice, Abby Rollins, Anthony Ruggieri, Daniel Rush, Cheryl Sadowski, Alfred Scelza, Alan Schwartz Jr., Luke Seiler, Sean Seipel, Charles Shaffer, Adam Slack, Caitlin Smarz, Alexander Smith, Sarah Tetreault, Donald Viggiano, Tymeisha Williams, Kristin Wynkoop, Christian Young, Olivia Zamzes.
LedyardKeri Banas, Bethany Billing, Yvette Chan, Jessica Costa, Scott Cote, Robin Cotter, Raymond Cullen, Sara Disalvo, Donald Farquhar, Emily Flemming, Jessica Gross, Emily Gruszkowski, Destiny Henkel, James Hickling, Timothy Jones, Sheila Jordan, Courtney Lauer, Kallie Margiotta, John Miranda, Duc Nguyen, Richard Overholt, Jaime Palomino, John Pearson, Spiro-Nikolas Revis, Matthew Robinson, Kylie Stoiber, Adam Strickland, Brandon Swan, Maria Swan, David Warwick, John Waugh, Jennifer Wessell, Wanda Winsborrow, Kenneth Wright, Joseph Wynn, Josiah Yano, Jessica Ziervogel.
LymeRobert Hale.
MontvilleRhoda Alfred, Eliphete Archille, Kaitlyn Barnhouser, Chad Berry, Victoria Blauvelt, Norman Collins III, Lori Daniels, Nicole Dombrowski, Conor Dougherty, Courtney Duff, Darren Dyke, Shawn East, Ryan Filosi, Vicki Fischer, Cassandra Fish, Rachel Franklin, Richard Gabriel, Jenna Gauthier, William Geary, Israel Golden, Ashley Gotham, Christopher Hammond, Debra Harris, Julia Henry, Connor Hovenstine, Kaitlyn Jennings, Omeed Kennedy, Andrew Lamprecht, Xiao Li, Alex Mallory, Julie Matzul, Tia McCloskey, Kelly Michaud, Grace Nelson, Jill Pisechko, Douglas Platz, Travis Quidgeon, Jeffrey Rogers, Kevin Santos, Lillijane Shigematsu, Arcadia Smith, Angela Stefano, Zachary Winakor, Stella Yu.
MysticCynthia Ashton, Eric Bemont, Linda Chambers, Danielle Chandler, Lucas Donahue, Lani Elon, Meredith Garner, Anastacia Knight, Jeannine Lovering, Steven Luce, Jennifer Maloney, Shiela Maravilla, Barbara Moffett, Angel Otano, Rebecca Plungis, Jeffrey Royce, Natalie Toscano, Shavaun Warzecha, Elizabeth Weeks, Danielle White.
New LondonJennifer G. Albert, Taylor Allen, Guian Boado, Kelly Byrne, Gabe Carr-Harris, Ryan Connell, Jason Curland, Gaurav Dhungana, Katie Dixon, Brittney English, Jonattan Escalante, Angel Feliciano, Julio Garrido, Cynthia Giles, Alfred Greene, Nathaly Henao, Anthony Herrera, Kebra Jennings, Amy Jones, Robert King, Dawn Lancaster, Dawn Larkin, Matthew Levey, Jason Medeiros, David Medina, John Napier, Erwin Nepomuceno, Stefanie Owens, Angeline Pamphile, Yesenia Parker, Fara Philidor, Larionne Philidor, Francisco Pratts Jr., Joshua Reznak, Adrienne Rodriguez, Priscilla Roman, Karina Sanchez, Sarah Sparen, Grecia Suriel, Jamese Tatum, Hendrix Taylor, Lillie Wilson.
NorwichStephanie Alcena, Krystel Alers, Kathleen Asselin, Anessa Baker, Vasilika Banushi, Hanna Barbaresi, Natalia Barragan, Sonya Bauzo, Tyler Bibeault, Samantha Bourbeau, Amy Bowen, Elizabeth Boxley, Alia Bradley, Andrew Broggins, Jonathan Burrow, Henry Calluari, Pamela Campbell, Nichole Casey, Nicholas Casiano, Brittany Casillas, Jackson Ceme, Kristin Cervizzi, David Clemons, Melissa Clinton, Tomas Colon, Jessica Combs, Courtney Corcoran, Tanya Cousens, Alvin Cruz, Craig Cuffie Jr., LiangYu Dai, Sara Davenport, Brian DeSilva, Elizabeth Diiorio, Judith Doll-Foley, Roland Dunham II, Michael Dunn, Marlene Ewankow, Katherine Faieta, Stuart Federroll, Jamie Gagliardo, Heloisa Garcia, Jonathan Garcia, Soudachanh Garoppolo, Marissa Gennaro, Suntasy Gernhard, Yaritza Heon, Celia Hodge, Cory Howard, Kelsey Hust, Renita Iturrino, Harry Jarrow, David Johnson, Derrick Johnson, Michael Jones, Christina Lee, Ronald Lee, Michael LePage, Kevin Levey, Yapei Li, Tara Lukaszewicz, Alison Lunde, Matthew MacMurray, Emilee Maloney, Faith Manning, Jeremy Marciniak, Heather Mayernik, Rachel Mayle, Nickolas Maynard, Paul McAllister, Kaitlyn McKee, Kate-Lyn McKeon, Morgan McKinney, John Meinking, Maclon Michel, Charles Milton, Edson Mompoint, Brittany Murray, Molly Nystrom, Stacie O'Connell, Carlos Onate Jr., Michael Ortiz, Rishi Patel, Kurt Peterson, Juan Puello Martinez, Maria Puetz, Kristopher Quay, Shyra Quimby, Michelle Reck, Katherine Reckamp, Vanessa Rice, Abigail Ricklin, Yarelis Rodriguez, Peter Rogers Jr., Tiffany Rossi, Kevin Saythany, Michello Shien, Raed Sidani, Nicole Smith, Shanai Smith, Karen Spendolini, Kimberlin Stanford, Asya Staples, Henry Witt, Michele Wilson, Ashley Workman, Karen Workman, David Ye, Charles Yeager, Samantha Yeitz, Lai Zhen, Joshua Ziemski.
North StoningtonPatrick Bohannon, Emily Breckenridge, Lindsay Brown, Barbara Campagna, Tony Correia, Jesse Henry, Brittany Hughes, Kathryn LaBelle, Kyle Majewski, Emily Mantell, Stacy Ritchotte, Joshua Stewart, Christine Viele.
Old LymeJoseph Legassie, Jared Loper, Kelly Powers-Dumont, Katherine Whall.
Old SaybrookLauren Bates.
PlainfieldKayla Barfield, Lorraine Barfield, Timothy Biesiadecki, William Buchert, Faith Coderre, Megan Davis, Jared Fournier, Heather Fritch, Gregory Harpin, Michael Ihloff, Meaghan Lewis, Melissa MacFarland, Tonia Mariano, Sarah Montigny, Tanya Nadeau, Kristy Nicholson, Kyle Roughan, Kahlena Watkins.
PrestonLisa Barile, Bethany Bonosconi, Jessica Bonosconi, Greg Congdon, Joshua Draper, Joseph Kelly, Michael Lavoie, Gregory Mahan, Dawn Stanford.
SalemMelissa Cinea, Crystal Lack, Kayla Lane, Ethan Reith, Nicolas Surdo, Audra Swider, Shelby Taylor, Danielle Tischer, Brianna Young.
SpragueLeeAnn Gauthier, John Feeney III, Brieanne Moody, Jennifer Ouimet, Shea-Lauren Ryan, Nicole Torrey.
StoningtonAngel Adamson, Chad Babcock, Courtney Barlow, Karyn Bessette, Samantha Browning, Rachel Buck, Jessica Cairnes, Dale Degaetano, Ashley DeMarco, Karen Foshay, Jeffrey Kane, Luke LeBras, Melinda Lynch, Wyatt Metayer, Brian Murphy, Lynne Purtill, Crystal Shaw, Rhonda Sicard, Holly Simpson, Antonio Tavares, Daniel Terrell, Erik Tilton, Michael Vacca, Matthew Wiseman, Sandra Wright.
VoluntownBrenda Engel, Susan Garza, Lindsey Grenier, Selena Kirsipuu, Rosharon Musser, Diana Nigro, Joan Warkentien.
WaterfordAnthony Abbiati, Garrett Boehm, Taylor Brouwer, Taylor Brown, Zachary Bushwack, Scott Caron, Joshua Carson, Tracy Cavalieri, Nicole Dalene, Jillian Danskin, Helen Dawley, Marcus Dipollina, Patrick Dougherty, Nicole Duerson, Daniel Estey Jr., Virginia Flood, Katlyn Foster, Daisy Garcia, Lesley Graham, Morgan Harran, Eugenie Kelly, Susan Kelly-Bird, Ibrahim Khatri, Chelsea Knowles, Brittany Littlefield, Christopher Marcinkewicz, Craig Merriman, Lezley Miller, Berthe Ngomba, Shauna Nocery, Dale Norman II, Kelly Polizzi, Delvin Ramirez, Laura Ramirez Perez, Steven Rathbun, Joselina Reyes, Jonathan Shafer III, Justin Stanley, Skie Stoddard, Ursula Tarazona, Oxana Tidd, Stephanie Turowski, Stacey Tynan, Justin Vine, Jessica Winslow.
WesterlyoLynn Dassler, Ashley Duffy, Robert Goddard, Antwan Haywood, Penny Myllymaki.
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