SLCC graduates urged to follow their passions

More than 3,000 Salt Lake Community College graduates walked away with associate degrees or certificates Friday at the school's commencement ceremonies. It was the largest graduating class in the history of the college.

Keynote speaker Emily Stover DeRocco, U.S. assistant secretary of labor for employment and training, said now is an exciting time to be entering the labor force in a swiftly changing global market place.

"The world is now experiencing a time of transformation ... big ideas transform into big results," DeRocco told students. "For individuals to seize the opportunities that are becoming available requires them to have greater levels of education — as graduates it places you in the enviable position of entering the workforce knowing that you possess the skills to succeed."

However, she said, lifelong learning is now a feature of the economy and education does not end after graduation since the skills needed today are not the skills that are going to be in demand in five or 10 years.

DeRocco said that to take advantage of the new and changing global society, graduates must learn to have a passion for what they do.

"Follow your passion, not your pension ... and do not be afraid of risks," she said. "Take full advantage of every opportunity you have to expand your horizon rather than focus on next week's pay check and next month's mortgage."

Student speaker Tifani Holloway, who received associate degrees in psychology and sociology, likened enrolling in college to tossing a stone into a pond.

"It causes a ripple effect that changes the lives of so many people, including my own," she said. "I discovered myself and discovered that I belong to a community outside of my dreams."

But she said obtaining a degree is not about being better than others but about being an example to others, showing them "if I can do this, then you can do this."

"It was worth the sacrifice, budgeting money for tuition and books and it was worth the sweat and tears to find joy in accomplishment," Holloway said. "It's worth any price to pay for something that no one can take away."

SLCC also awarded honorary doctorate degrees to John Hughes, professor of communications at BYU and former editor and COO of the Deseret Morning News, and Tim Huval, senior vice president and human resources executive for Bank of America's Global Wealth & Investment Management division and an SLCC alumnus.

"We are so proud of all of our wonderful students," said President Cynthia A. Bioteau. "Wherever our graduates choose to go after completing their education at this college, we know they will enrich the lives of everyone they contact."

SLCC is an open enrollment, comprehensive community college that serves traditional and non-traditional students through technical and academic education as well as business and industry training.

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E-mail: terickson@desnews.com