DANVILLE — Danville Area Community College will confer degrees and certificates on nearly 400 graduates during Commencement exercises on Friday.
The ceremony will take place at 7 p.m. inside Mary Miller Gymnasium. About 180 graduates are expected to participate in the ceremony. The event will be live streamed on YouTube for friends and family who aren’t able to attend in person.
Students who have a cumulative grade-point average of 4.000 will graduate with the designation summa cum laude and will wear a gold tassel, gold cord and a medallion. There are six such graduates in the class of 2022 who will represent their class during the ceremony.
Andrew Barnes is a graduating senior at Danville High School. He’s the first Dual Graduate from DHS. He is receiving an Associate in Applied Science in Applied Computer Science. His proud parents are Mark and Susan Barnes, both employees at DACC. Mark is the Director of Information Technology and Sue is a Human Resources Generalist. Andrew’s older brother, Anthony, also is among the Class of ’22. Andrew will act as one of three Marshals who are leading the class Processional and Recessional.
The other two Marshals are Sarah Kedas, a Salt Fork High School alum who is earning an Associate of Arts in Business; and Nyiana Morris Gaston, another DHS alum, who is earning an Associate in Applied Science in Medical Office Assistant and three certificates in related fields.
Katherine (Katie) Thompson will lead the Pledge of Allegiance. Katie is a 2020 graduate of Oakwood High School and the daughter of two DACC educators: Professor Alan Thompson, a math and physical science instructor, and Tracy Thompson, the director of the Math and Science tutoring center. Katie is earning an Associate of Arts in Elementary Education.
Autumn Lange will lead the Tassel Ceremony. Autumn is a 2021 graduate of Salt Fork High School who had earned more than a year’s worth of DACC credit through dual credit courses before she graduated high school. She’s a Presidential Scholar, an E-Sports athlete, and an All Star Jaguar student ambassador. While Autumn is earning an Associate of Arts in Business Administration, just one year out of high school, she will be staying at DACC for another year while she works on a Bachelor’s degree through the Franklin University 3 + 1 Program.
Finally, there is Colleen Wakeland, who is giving the Response of the Class of 2022. Colleen is a 2013 graduate of Westville High School who already earned one Associate degree from DACC in 2015. She’s married and the mother of a four-year old and a three-month old. She came back to school in the summer of 2020 to work on second degree, and gave birth to her second daughter just three weeks into her final semester this spring. Through it all, she managed to maintain a perfect GPA and earned an Associate in Applied Science in Health Information Technology, and two related certificates.
Colleen has a special “friendly face” in the Class of ’22 as her husband, Alexander, is also graduating. He’s participating in the same ceremony, earning an Associate of Applied Science in Applied Computer Science, but in his words, “I’m not the scholar, my wife is. I’m just grateful to be graduating with her!” Colleen says May 20, 2022, will be quite the date night for the two of them.
Magna cum laude graduates have a cumulative grade-point average of 3.750-3.999 and will wear a gold tassel and a gold cord; cum laude grades have a cumulative grade-point average of 3.50-3.749 and will wear a gold tassel. Students’ ability to be recognized at the graduation ceremony is based on the cumulative grade-point average calculated at the end of the fall semester prior to the spring ceremony.
The college will recognize three Franklin University graduates who have completed Bachelor’s degrees through DACC’s 3 + 1 partnership with Franklin. Heather Johnson is receiving a Bachelor of Science in Applied Psychology; Andre Mandeldove is receiving a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration; and Star Williams is receiving a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration/Management & Leadership.
These three graduates previously completed an Associate degree at DACC and then took a third year of DACC courses that counted toward their Bachelor’s degree before completing that degree online through Franklin. The program allows place-bound students to complete a Bachelor’s degree while meeting their family and work commitments at home at a significantly reduced cost compared to a traditional residential university degree.
