MCC awards degrees to more than 500 graduates

McHenry County College conferred associate degrees and/or certificates to 566 graduates Saturday morning during its spring commencement ceremony.

Among the highlights was a presentation by alumnus Nick Kachiroubas, of Crystal Lake, a DePaul University professor who was among six recipients of MCC's 2016 Distinguished Alumni Award.

Other recipients are: Ryan Blum of Paris; John Cain of Ringwood; Wesley Crain of Woodstock; Mark Martin of Union; and Nancy Merkling of Woodstock.

Twin brothers Adrian Nuno and Andrew Nuno, of Crystal Lake, were the student speakers. They have been members of the MCC Forensics Team and won several awards for their speeches, including a gold award for Duo Interpretation at the 2016 Phi Rho Pi National Tournament in Costa Mesa, California.

The brothers also are members of the Phi Theta Kappa honor society. Adrian was the Honors in Action chairman and led a project to promote mental health awareness called, "Breaking the Stigma of Mental Illness: A New Frontier." Both were student workers at MCC - Andrew in the Sustainability Center and Adrian in the Student Life Office.

MCC President Clinton Gabbard and English instructor Anne Humphrey also spoke during the ceremony. Humphrey is MCC's nominee for the 2016 Illinois Community College Trustee Association Outstanding Full-time Faculty Member of the Year.