Et cetera : Kirkwood Graduates Largest Class

Kirkwood Community College will soon honor almost 3,000 students taking positive steps for their futures. The college will hold commencement ceremonies for its college credit and GED/adult high school programs this week. Both ceremonies will be held at the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena.

Kirkwood will confer 2,476 college credit degrees, diplomas and certificates for study in the current academic year. The college will also award 512 GED and adult high school diplomas. The 2,988-combined total is the highest in Kirkwood’s history.

Those college credit students represent 81 counties in Iowa, 21 different states and 32 different countries. The youngest 11 graduates are 18 years old. The oldest graduate is 63.

The Kirkwood Adult High School Commencement is set for 7:30 p.m., Friday, May 17. Kirkwood President Mick Starcevich and Dean of Secondary Programs and Distance Learning Todd Prusha will address the students. The ceremony will feature three student graduates, Jeri Spalding, Tabatha Archuletta and Sergio Hernandez.

The college commencement will be held at 10 a.m., Saturday, May 18. Kirkwood Board of Trustees Chair Lois Bartelme will greet the audience on behalf of the college, with Peggy DeJong, president of the Kirkwood Faculty Association sharing the instructor’s perspective on the students’ accomplishments. Logan Bine of Belle Plaine, Iowa, will add comments on his student experiences. He will receive his Associate of Arts degree at the ceremony. President Starcevich will complete the speaker’s schedule with his remarks to the graduates.

Both ceremonies are free and open to the public. Tickets are not required for guests to attend the ceremony. Complimentary parking is available around the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena.

For more information on the ceremonies, visit www.kirkwood.edu/graduation.

This is the forty-seventh graduation week for Kirkwood Community College. In its founding year, 1966-67, the college had just 199 credit students enrolled in classes.

With the most credit programs of any community college in Iowa, Kirkwood Community College boasts more than 25,000 annual college-credit students, while maintaining one of the lowest tuitions in the state. All students are eligible for federal financial aid and the college offers $2.4 million in scholarships each year to students from all walks of life. Kirkwood is a convenient, innovative and visionary educational leader that strives to remain affordable and accessible.