Oakton celebrates 45th annual Commencement on May 17

Oakton Community College's 45th annual Commencement on Tuesday, May 17, will be streamed live starting at 7 p.m., on the college's website (www.oakton.edu) and will also be broadcast live on WOW cable channels 21-14 and on Comcast channel 15. Rebroadcasts will air Friday, May 20, at 7 p.m., and Sunday, May 22, at 1 p.m. and 7 p.m.

More than 1,200 eligible students have petitioned to receive degrees and certificates and approximately half of them will don caps and gowns to cross the stage, receive their diplomas, and celebrate at the Des Plaines campus, 1600 E. Golf Road.

Janelle Silva, a graduating student who has persisted at Oakton for more than a decade, will give the commencement address. For the past 10 years, the 36-year-old Skokie resident has worked full-time for the village of Skokie in the area of marketing and communications, and as an onsite manager of the Skokie Farmers' market. Silva is scheduled to be a sponsored Nike+ Run Club Pacer in this year's 2016 Bank of America Chicago Marathon and will be encouraging runners who have set 3:55 as their own personal goal to keep up with that time. In the fall, she plans to transfer to Northeastern Illinois University in pursuit of a bachelor's degree in political science or public administration.

Yeon Woo Kim, outgoing Student Government Association president, will also take the podium. The Glenview resident immigrated to the United States from Korea 14 years ago. At Oakton, she held two part-time jobs to pay for college while also excelling as an engineering major and leader on campus. She served as a peer mentor an orientation leader, and president of the STEM Club. At the college, Kim also explored her artistic side as a member of the Oakton Visual Organization, where she explored her passion for multimedia and photography.