Illinois Central College Celebrates 1,920 Graduates at 2024 Commencement Ceremony
East Peoria, IL (05/13/2024) — Illinois Central College (ICC) held its 2024 commencement ceremony on Saturday, May 11 to celebrate 1,920 graduates who earned more than 2,083 credentials. Students, their families, college employees, and community members attended the ceremony at the Peoria Civic Center or watched a livestream.
This year's graduates include ten high school students from Peoria and Washington who graduated simultaneously with both their high school diplomas and their associate degrees and 97 graduates who received more than one degree or certificate.
ICC President Dr. Sheila Quirk-Bailey thanked the graduates for being a source of inspiration to college employees. She said, "We know each and every one of you came to ICC to not only change the trajectory of your lives, but also the lives of your families. And it has been an honor for everyone at the College to watch each of you write your own success stories. We hope you know our number one goal is to ensure everyone who walks through our doors is successful. Your future has been our priority. You are what matters to us most."
During the ceremony, the Transfer Student of the Year award was presented to Alana O'Hare and the Applied Science Student of the Year award was presented to Kaleb Trone. Faculty awards were presented to Linda Bond, American Sign Language instructor, and Daniel Kelly, professor of accounting. Leon Belmont, student trustee on the ICC Board of Trustees, was the student speaker.
Rita Ali, Mayor of Peoria and former ICC Vice President of Workforce and Diversity, gave the keynote speech on the power of forgiveness, education, and commitment. She told graduates, "ICC is truly one of the best community colleges in the state, if not the country. You should be very proud to graduate from an institution that honors who you are and commits to community service. ICC has played a big role in who I am and where I am in my life and career today."
A recording of the ceremony is available at icc.edu/event/commencement-2024/.
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Illinois Central College is a two-year community college with campuses in East Peoria, Peoria and Pekin, Illinois, providing a high-quality, affordable education to prepare students to enter the workforce or to transfer to a four-year institution. ICC is the 2020 awardee of the National Community College Charles Kennedy Equity Award from ACCT, a 2022 EDA Good Job Challenge Institution, and the Lead College for the state of Illinois' Workforce Equity Initiative. ICC also conducts original research in agricultural fields, including water quality and soil conservation. For more information, visit icc.edu.
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