Amarillo College celebrates its 106th commencement

Amarillo College held its 106th Commencement Saturday in two ceremonies at the Amarillo Civic Center, graduating more than 600 students.

According to Amarillo College, eligible to participate were 858 spring graduates, along with 267 students who anticipate completing their academic requirements this summer. Gracie Porras, a sonography major from Bovina, was chosen as speaker for the afternoon ceremony.

Chosen as commencement speaker for the evening ceremony was Liv Cawthorn, an Amarillo native. Cawthorn is an honor society member and English major who is transferring to the University of Texas at Austin to get her bachelor’s degree. During her speech, she focused on how to go forward and take the experience from Amarillo College to the next step and grow.

“It was such an honor; this was literally a once-in-lifetime opportunity,” Cawthorn said. “I will never get a chance to speak in front of crowds like this about Amarillo College, probably ever again. It is a wonderful way to wrap up my journey at Amarillo College.”

Asked why she decided to major in English, Cawthorn said that a love of reading led to her understanding of the importance of literature. She said she was obsessed with books her entire life, and even during the summer, when others were going to the pool, she spent her time in her room with her favorite books. She said her favorite books were a series of Neapolitan Novels by Italian author Elena Ferrante.

“I just think that keeping literature alive is really important, especially with the resurgence of literature. I feel like there has been a renaissance, and it is becoming more popular due to the rise of social media. It's up to people to preserve it and keep it alive,” she said.

This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: Amarillo College celebrates its 106th commencement