The end of Moraine Park’s
spring semester was filled with many events—some of the most exciting being
graduation ceremonies! This year at commencement more than 300 students walked across the stage to receive their degrees and
become new Moraine Park alumni. It was great to see students’ friends, families
and Moraine Park staff there to celebrate this exciting, culminating event. Each
of the nearly 900 students that completed their degrees should be proud of their
great accomplishment.
It was an honor to introduce this year’s commencement speaker, Jim Wessing, president and co-founder of Kondex Corp. Jim’s optimistic speech gave students great advice for their future careers. During his speech Jim spoke about the strong demand for technical skills and how now is a wonderful time to be graduating. I couldn’t agree with him more.
 |
| Commencement 2013 |
Commencement wasn’t the only ceremony I had the
pleasure of attending. On May 31, on our Beaver Dam Campus, I had the
opportunity to present diplomas to eleven future welders. These students were part of the new welding
skills academy, or
boot camps. To be accepted into the
program students had to go through a rigorous testing and interview process
with both Moraine Park staff and with employers, in order to obtain a welding
internship with one of the boot camp business partners. This is the fourth boot camp graduation since
January, it is the second group of Welding Boot Camp graduates, and it is the
first group of students who completed the program as part of the U.S.
Department of Labor Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career
Training grant. I know that all Moraine
Park faculty and staff are very proud of these students and we thank them for
their commitment to the program.
 |
Welding Boot Camp
Graduation
|
I also had the privilege
of attending the General Education Development (GED) and High School
Equivalency Diploma (HSED) graduation on June 13 at our Fond du Lac Campus. This
year, Moraine Park faculty and staff worked with more than 300 students to help them achieve their goal
of earning their HSED/ GED certificates,
and nearly 60 of those students participated in the ceremony. Listening to the student speakers share their
stories was very inspiring. I wish each
of the GED/HSED graduates the best
as they pursue new opportunities.
 |
Moraine Park’s 13th
Annual GED/HSED Graduation Ceremony
|
Congratulations again to
all the Moraine Park graduates. If you were a part of any of these events and
would like to share your experience, please send me a note. I’d love to hear from
you.
Have a safe and relaxing
summer!
