NECC Commencement
Commencement will be Celebrated in August…Virtually!
Our May Commencement Ceremony is the highlight of our year, attracting 3,000 people, including our graduates and their family and friends, and our faculty and staff.
It’s no surprise that won’t be possible this May, and who knows when it will be safe to host a celebration of this size.
We’ve been working hard to determine the best way to celebrate our amazing 2020 graduates, who have shown great resilience in the midst of unprecedented challenges. The good news is that we have a plan.
Our May 16 ceremony has been postponed, but we will have a virtual celebration in August. We will share remarks from our featured speaker and our student speaker, celebrate our award recipients and, most importantly, recognize our graduates.
Each grad will receive a surprise package in the mail during the month and be invited to host their own celebration, one they can share with the community through videos or photos.
After we have received graduate videos and photos, we will create a Commencement 2020 video that we will share widely.
All 2020 graduates will also be invited to participate in the 2021 graduation in May, which will be a joint ceremony for both classes.
We are working on the details now, and we’ll share them with you as they come.
Thank you for your patience and your understanding during these most difficult times. While it won’t be a traditional commencement, we are looking forward to creatively celebrating our graduates and engaging faculty, staff, families, and the community in recognizing their achievements.
If you have questions, please contact Enrollment Services at 978 556-3700 or registrar@necc.mass.edu
2019 Commencement Photos
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Graduation News
Nominate an Outstanding Graduate for Student Speaker on May 16
One of the highlights of commencement each year is the speech by a graduating student who has been selected by faculty and staff to represent the class. The college is now soliciting nominations for the 2020 student commencement speaker and anyone interested is invited to nominate an outstanding student by Tuesday, March 31
To be considered students should have a strong grade point average (3.5 or above is preferred). In addition to academic success, contributions to the college and/or the community in general will be considered.
To nominate a student, you must submit a letter to the student speaker selection committee explaining why your nominee would be a good candidate for student speaker and a nomination form. Nominations can be submitted online and here are the details.
The information you submit as well as official transcripts will be considered by a committee of faculty and staff who will make recommendations to President Glenn. This is a very competitive process so please be sure that the materials you provide reflect the full scope of the individual you are recommending and clearly communicate why this person should be selected to represent the class of 2020.
To learn more about NECC’s Commencement, visit the website (necc.mass.edu/commencement).
If you have questions, please contact Ernie Greenslade, Marketing Communications, at 978 556-3862 or egreenslade@necc.mass.edu.
Secretary Acosta to Deliver Commencement Address at Northern Essex
Massachusetts Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development Rosalin Acosta, a past Northern Essex Community College trustee, has been selected to deliver the commencement address to this year’s Northern Essex graduates.
The 2020 commencement ceremony will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, May 16, on the quadrangle of the Haverhill Campus. More than 1,000 graduates are expected to receive certificates of completion and associate degrees.
Acosta manages the Commonwealth’s workforce development and labor departments, which ensure that workers, employers, and the unemployed have the tools, training, and safety resources needed to succeed in the Massachusetts economy. Secretary Acosta also chairs the Workforce Skills Cabinet alongside the secretary of education and the secretary of housing and economic development.
“Secretary Acosta understands our students and has an inspiring story to share,” said President Lane Glenn. “She came to this country with her family as a baby, and, through hard work and a focus on education, she has achieved great success. She’ll be sharing that story with our students, many of whom will see parallels in their own lives.”
Prior to joining the Baker-Polito Administration, she was a widely respected financial and banking service professional with more than 30 years of experience in Greater Boston financial institutions. Secretary Acosta was a director and planning committee member of the Merrimack Valley Workforce Investment Board and was appointed an NECC trustee by Governor Charlie Baker.
She has been named one of Boston’s Most Influential Women by the Women of Harvard Club and El Planeta’s Top 100 Most Influential Hispanics in Massachusetts. She has also been awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Association for Latino Professionals for America (ALPFA).
Born in Cuba, she earned a bachelor of arts from Wesleyan University in Connecticut where she was a member of the Women’s Varsity Ice Hockey Team. She is the proud mother of five children.
Sec. Acosta knows the value that Northern Essex gives to its students firsthand as three of her five children have attended NECC.
To learn more about NECC’s commencement ceremony, visit the website .
