Manchester Community College grads look to the future

May 27—MANCHESTER — Graduates of all ages and backgrounds came together to celebrate the end of one chapter and the beginning of the next with their families and faculty members during Manchester Community College's commencement ceremony on Thursday.

MCC CLASS OF 2022

WHAT: 669 graduates of Manchester Community College were awarded their degrees and certificates during the 58th commencement ceremony on Thursday.

WHO: The graduates come from 92 towns across Connecticut, as well as Florida, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon and Texas. The youngest graduate was 18 years old, while the oldest was 81.

The ceremony brought together 669 resilient graduates, many of whom worked to earn their degree while simultaneously working part-time and full-time jobs, raising children and grandchildren, and in some cases, serving in the military.

Co-valedictorian Amanda Phillips-Bosshart of Vernon, who received an associate's degree in paralegal studies, highlighted the challenges she faced during her studies in her speech, and the bravery it took for her to go back to school and believe in herself after getting divorced and selling her house as a single mother.

"If someone had told me two years ago that this is where I was going to end up, I would have said that's nice, but you're nuts," Phillips-Bosshart said, adding, "I never thought I was capable of going and getting a college education. And, if I'm being honest, I was terrified of failure."

Despite her fears, Phillips-Bosshart decided to push herself to go back to school after 20 years.

"I looked at my daughter and I knew I had to stop being afraid," she said in her speech on Thursday, highlighting the resiliency that it took to make it to graduation.

"It is never too late to change your outcome. Figure out what inspires you, lights a passion within you, and follow it," Phillips-Bosshart urged.

Co-valedictorian Stefan Hall of Windsor, who is looking to pursue a bachelor's and master's degree in accounting at the University of Connecticut, also touched on persevering through self-doubt in his speech.

"In the beginning, some of you may have had thoughts like, I'm not smart enough to go to college, or I'm too old, or any similar negative thoughts, some of which may have almost stopped you. I know I did," Hall said, adding, "Recognize now however that you have unequivocally succeeded, and not only have you succeeded, that you have done so through a pandemic."

Hall also recognized the importance of taking the next steps after graduation, saying, "Today is not a day of retrospection, it is a day of moving forward."

Sen. M. Saud Anwar, D-South Windsor, served as commencement speaker on Thursday and told the graduates that much of their strength lies in helping each other.

"Manchester Community College is a redwood forest, and you are mighty trees," Anwar said, adding that much like redwood trees that support each other with intertwining root systems, successful students and graduates also support each other.

Anwar also noted that South Windsor mother Jessica Edwards, who was killed last year, would have been one of the graduates at Thursday's ceremony had she lived.

"When she was here as a student, she was trying to make sure that she was taking care of all the other mothers, young moms, who were here," Anwar said during his address, adding that she had organized study groups and made sure that they could take care of each other's children while studying at the school.

"Jessica was going through hardships but she lived the Manchester Community College values," Anwar said, adding, "there's a lot we can learn from Jessica."

Ben covers Coventry and Tolland for the Journal Inquirer.