Austin Community College District (ACC) celebrates the 3,757 students invited to participate in its 2023 fall commencement ceremony. ACC’s celebration honors those who have completed an associate degree, bachelor’s degree, workforce certificate, or high school equivalency program.
Date: Thursday, December 7
Time: 6 p.m.
Location: H-E-B Center at Cedar Park, 2100 Avenue of the Stars
“I love this time of year. We see the culmination of our efforts of loving our students to meet this milestone in their academic and professional careers at graduation. This is why we do what we do,” says ACC Chancellor Dr. Russell Lowery-Hart. “The transformative degrees and certificates in higher education are happening in the community college world, not the university world. We must ensure that students can finish what they start.”
The fall ceremony recognizes graduates from the summer and fall semesters. 1,830 summer graduates along with 1,927 fall candidates were invited to participate in commencement.
Hear from the students:
“I’m excited to be a college graduate. I will be walking the stage for the first time at 28 years old. Accomplishing this has been so gratifying. It was not easy to get here, but I did it. The best advice I can give future students is just show up. If you show up, your professors, advisors, counselors, and classmates will meet you in the middle. If you are struggling, let someone know, and they will help you,” says Lauren Cawley Perez, ACC Studio Art student.
“I used to be a welder and was apprehensive to continue my education, but I made the commitment and have loved every minute of my time at ACC. I’ll be graduating with two associate of science degrees this fall and recently got accepted into nursing school at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. I am excited to build on the foundations of the experiences throughout my life and at ACC and put them towards my career and passions,” says Michael Deitrich, ACC General Studies in Pre-Health Science and General Studies in Science student.
“I am a mother of three children and came to the U.S. in September 2015. When I started at ACC, I only took one class per semester because I had to work full time to provide for my two kids, which I left with my mother due to the visa process. There were a lot of ups and downs, and I couldn’t graduate now without Capital Idea and ACC’s flexibility,” says Tsega Ande, ACC Professional Nursing student.
For more information, visit austincc.edu/commencement.
Leave a message for our students in the Fall 2023 Commencement Ceremony padlet wall.
