Archive for the ‘Commencement’ Category

Pellissippi State, other GED graduates to be honored in ceremony

Thursday, June 11th, 2009

On Saturday, June 20, at 11 a.m., more than 50 proud Knox County adults will don cap and gown and walk across the stage to receive their GED. U.S. Rep. John Duncan Jr. is guest speaker for the ceremony.

The Adult Education Program at Pellissippi State Technical Community College is one of three local programs hosting the ceremony, which takes place at Central United Methodist Church.

Students from the GED programs offered by Workforce Connections’ L.T. Ross Learning Center of the Knoxville-Knox County Community Action Committee and the WAVE (Work, Achievement, Values and Education) Program at the University of Tennessee also will graduate.

For the participants who take part, the graduation ceremony is a proud achievement. The students attending represent more than 200 who have completed the necessary course work and testing since July 2008.

Some of the GED students are as young 17. Most are adults who juggle jobs and families, and many seek to improve their financial status. Even the cost of a cap and gown can be prohibitive for some graduates. In those instances, the Pellissippi State Foundation assists with the costs for the college’s GED students.

The Foundation also is paying the ceremony and cap and gown expenses, with the money coming from the proceeds of the 2008 Farragut Rotary Club Spelling Bee.

One student speaker from each of the three programs will share his or her story. Marion Butler, a graduate of the Adult Education Program at Pellissippi State, is a 62-year-old who relocated to Tennessee in 2003 from Massachusetts. Though experienced in her distribution center career, Butler lost two jobs in Knoxville due to company shutdowns. When she was laid off the second time, it forced her to look at the direction of her life.

“I’d like to go to work for a hospital or at UT,” said Butler. “I’d really like to learn how to be an X-ray technician or work in admissions at a hospital.

“I’ve always worked and never had the time to work on my GED. Getting the GED means that I can get a better job, a steady job to help support my family. My family is very excited…. I have their full support.”

Students who enroll in the Adult Education Program at Pellissippi State have access to a variety of educational materials and resources.

Peggy Wilson will serve as host of the graduation ceremony. She is vice president of College Advancement at Pellissippi State and executive director of the Pellissippi State Foundation.

Central United Methodist is located at 201 Third Ave., Knoxville. For additional information, contact the Adult Education Program at Pellissippi State at (865) 539-7109.

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State Rep. Armstrong Commencement speaker at Pellissippi State

Monday, April 13th, 2009

State Rep. Joe Armstrong will serve as speaker for the 2009 Commencement ceremony of Pellissippi State Technical Community College. The event is scheduled for Saturday, May 9, at the University of Tennessee’s Thompson-Boling Arena.

The college will confer approximately 800 degrees for 2009.

Armstrong, a lifelong resident of Knoxville’s 15th legislative district and an 11-term representative, is especially well known for his work in the education and health fields. Among the bills he has sponsored are several designed to improve the quality of life for all Tennesseans: the Hope Scholarship, Tennessee Pre-Kindergarten Programs, Meharry Wellness Program, Tennessee Safety Net and Long Term Care Community Choices Act.

Often quoted as saying “voting is our choice of hope,” Armstrong stresses citizen participation at all government levels, believing that involvement is a true way to improve the quality of life and help assure freedom and equality for everyone.

An active steward of his constituents and community, Armstrong is involved in numerous government, business, nonprofit and church endeavors. Among them: chairing the House Health and Human Resources Committee and the Health Equity Commission; serving on several boards, including Mercy Health Partners; being a lifetime member of the Boys and Girls Club; and serving as usher and trustee of First AME Zion Church.

Armstrong is the recipient of numerous awards, including having been named Legislator of the Year by the Tennessee Men’s Health Network, Tennessee Medical Association, Tennessee Community Organizations and the National Black Caucus of State Legislators. In 2007, he was elected chair of the National Black Caucus of the State Legislators’ National Health Committee.

The speaker shares his political and community experiences with Pellissippi State graduates, their guests and school faculty and staff at the Commencement ceremony, which begins at 10:30 a.m.

For additional information, contact Rebecca Ashford, vice president of Student Success and Enrollment Management, at (865) 694-6552 or rlashford@pstcc.edu.

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