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Over 200 set to graduate from WSCC Friday.
#WestShoreCommunityCollege.
VICTORY TOWNSHIP – Over 200 West Shore Community College students are eligible to receive degrees and certificates at the college’s 47th commencement ceremony to be held on Friday, May 5, at 7 p.m. in the college’s Recreation Center arena.
Speakers for the event will be President Kenneth Urban, Bruce C. Smith, chairman of the board of trustees, and Amber Sadler, president of the Student Senate. Dr. Michael McKinney, professor of biological sciences, will provide the faculty address.
In celebration of the college’s 50th anniversary, the college’s former presidents, Dr. John Eaton, Dr. William Anderson, and Dr. Charles Dillon, will join the ceremony.
The graduates will be presented by Dr. Brooke Portmann, dean of arts and sciences and Christy Christmas, dean of occupational programs. Chairman Smith, along with the board of trustees, and President Urban will award the degrees.
During the ceremony, the college will honor Dr. Leslie Paxton with the Alumni Achievement Award.
Paxton is a 2006 West Shore graduate. After attending college as a fine arts major, she decided to follow her childhood passion and became a pre-veterinary undergraduate student at Michigan State University while earning her Bachelor of Science degree in animal science.
During this time, she had the opportunity to live in Northern Ireland for three months where she studied equine management. After another four years of study at MSU’s College of Veterinary Medicine, she received a doctor of veterinary medicine degree and now works as an associate veterinarian at the Animal Hospital of Ludington.
Paxton said she enjoys the challenge of surgery and the art and science of anesthesia. Client relations is another important aspect of her job and she said, “I love hearing client’s stories about their pets as it exemplifies the human-animal bond.”
In her spare time, she enjoys horseback riding, snow skiing, pottery, painting, and drawing. She also likes running and has aspirations to run a marathon and compete in a triathlon someday.
The Rev. John Scott, of the United Methodist Church in Manistee, will deliver the invocation and benediction.
Music for the event will be provided by the Grand Traverse Pipes and Drums and the WSCC Jazz Band which is conducted by Professor of Music Ted Malt.
Following the commencement ceremony, a reception for the graduates and their families will be held in the Administrative and Conference Building.
The WSCC nursing program will honor 27 graduating nursing students in a symbolic pinning ceremony to be held on Thursday, May 4, at 6:30 p.m. in the Center Stage Theater. Each graduate will receive a time-honored pin, a symbol of a nurse’s service to others, and their induction into the nursing profession. A reception will follow the ceremony.
WSCC’s Law Enforcement Academy cadets will be recognized as graduates during the Law Enforcement Awards Ceremony at 7 p.m. on Monday, May 8, in the college’s Center Stage Theater. The keynote speaker will be Newaygo County Sheriff Robert Mendham, a 1995 graduate of the college’s police academy. The training academy is 16 weeks long and there are over 30 instructors who assist with the academy. A reception will follow the ceremony.
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