Record number of graduates for Waubonsee Community College's 50th year

Waubonsee Community College's 2017 commencement ceremonies provided a celebratory highlight of the college's 50th anniversary, as a record number of graduates participated in two ceremonies.

Held at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. on May 13, the dual ceremonies took place at the college's Sugar Grove campus field house. A record 363 graduates participated, and the college awarded a total of 1,166 degrees to 1,142 candidates.

The first Waubonsee graduation was held in the Freeman Room of the Aurora YMCA on June 5, 1968. There were 16 graduates. The second graduation was held on June 12, 1969, with 90 students receiving degrees. Fast forward nearly five decades, and the college has grown to four campuses and has conferred 23,358 degrees.

In spite of so much change and growth in five decades, the college has stayed true to its mission of providing access to high quality higher education to those in the community, and the graduates who walked across the stage reflected the diverse cross section of dreams that take shape at Waubonsee. Among them this year were a 73-year-old great-grandmother who plans to become a social worker and addictions counselor; a veteran who has served his country for 15 years, including three deployments to Iraq and two to Afghanistan; the college's inaugural class of Dunham Fund Quick Path Scholars; and so many others whose achievements will better not just themselves but also their families and communities.

This year's keynote speaker was Jeff Schielke, who has served as mayor of Batavia for 36 years. He also has a personal connection to Waubonsee's history, as he was a member of the college's first graduating class.