Beaufort County Community College held its Pinning Ceremony and 51st annual Commencement Exercise and for its graduating students on May 11. There are 235 students graduating, including 46 from the Associate Degree in Nursing program.

BCCC proudly welcomed Clark Twiddy as its commencement speaker. Twiddy is a native of eastern North Carolina and currently serves on the North Carolina State Board of Community Colleges.  He also serves as co-chair for the State Board of Community Colleges Strategic Planning Committee and is committed to workforce development.

In his professional life, Twiddy is Chief Administrative Officer at Twiddy & Company, a family-owned business that has been serving the Outer Banks for 40 years. Twiddy is a graduate of Virginia Military Institute, combat veteran of the US Navy, having served as Lt. Commander with U.S. Naval Intelligence. Twiddy’s service to the community at large is extensive, serving on a variety of for-profit, non-profit, government, and private ventures.

Among the graduates were students with gold tassels. These 56 honor students earned a GPA of at least 3.5 or higher. Nine graduated Summa Cum Laude, having earned a 4.0 or higher.

Dr. Crystal Ange, vice president of academics, announced the Faculty Member of the Year, Kent Dickerson, nursing director, and the Staff Member of the Year, Jack Spencer, custodian coordinator. She also announced the Dallas Herring Achievement Award recipient, Tony Jordan, the Academic Achievement Award recipient, Katelyn Kincer, and the Robert W. Scott Leadership Award recipient, Millie Ebron. Darian Stoica, Jaime Resendez and Elizabeth Price received the All-USA Community College Academic Award. Elizabeth Price is a graduate of the Columbia Early College High School.

This year also marked the first graduates from Southside High School. The three students, Ashley Nobles, Hannah Paramore and Joshua Toler, are part of Career and College Promise, a dual-enrollment program that lets them take college classes for free while still in high school. All three are graduating with honors, with Toler graduating Summa Cum Laude.

BCCC wishes all the best to the departing students and hopes that they return to share their success stories with their former instructors.