TCAT Commencement 2024 - Thursday August 1, 10:00 AM

>> I just ed let you know we'll get started in about five minutes . weather and some other things have put us behind just about fave minutes we'll see five minutes we'll see you soon . >> I have attention . I knowed the family of Adrian a d l e y to meet us in the lobby . >> Good . Wow That was loud er than was expecting . We are to de again your begin our ceremony . Thank for your patience , guests , family , , thank you being here today . Please stand was as we begin procession . ... ... >> can be ed . Thank you . Good morning and welcome to our ceremony honoring the graduates from the Business Operations, Commercial Truck Driving, Industrial Processes, Medical Programs and Transportation department in the Tennessee College of Applied Technology at Chattanooga State Community will receive their well-earned diplomas and certificates. I want to take a moment to thank our staff whose tireless work made today with our graduates every step of the way throughout their educational journey. Our Student Services team led by Boyd Copeland. The department heads, Diane Jackson, Duane Pendergraph, David Burgess, Rebecca Marymee, Jimmy Jones and our Dean, Jessica Green, work to support our faculty and our students every day. I also recognize President Chattanooga State, Dr. Rebecca Ashford. Graduates who are National Technical Honor Society members are wearing white To and/or tassels. stoles society, enter this honor a A must have an graduate average for the entirety of the program, have 91% or higher attendance, and have graduates, please stand and be recognized. [Applause] thank you . This past June 29 of our students competed in 15 events at the National SkillsUSA competition in Atlanta. Together, our students brought home 13 gold medals and one silver Skills USA participants please stand and be recognized! [Applause] thank you . Graduates who are veterans are wearing red, white, and blue cords. Graduates who are Veterans, please stand and be recognized . (Applause) thank you for your service . I am pleased to introduce our student speaker, Kam Johnson. Kam graduated from University Tennessee State with a degree in Criminal Justice. In addition to earning his degree, he was a member of the track and field team for the Tigers. Kam has served as a police officer with the Chattanooga Police Department for the past 14 years and is currently a supervisor. He served in the military and is currently a reservist in the National Guard. On an early deployment, Kam was dissatisfied with the quality of barbering he and others received. Seeing an opportunity to make things better, he stepped in and discovered a talent and passion for barbering. Kam knows that people don t always enjoy seeing him in uniform, but barbering is a way of building community, open his own Barber shop. Please welcome Kam. (Applause) . >> KAM JOHNSON: First, on behalf of all the graduates today I d like to thank everyone who came out to support in the moment . We recognize that without your sacrifice s our ment s wouldn't have came true or would been more difficult to accomplish . Whether it s our parents watching our children for us, our spouses having to take on a bigger role in the We all came with a goal to learn the skill , graduate and attain the job that's going to give us the desired salary and we're two - thirds of the way there so congratulations thus far . I would like to personally thank all of the T C A T programs because throughout my stay here they gave me help . Who doesn't need a car , a nice mar cure manicure for the weekend after a week of stress being in class . I would like to thank all of the people who help ed me get to where I'm at . Whether iter was it was the students before me , The students before me, Mark, Coleman, Ab, Octavio, all gave advice and help whenever I asked. To the Staff, Ms. Cookie, who I ve bugged with a million questions about financial aid and registration and she still answer s answer s them know ing I asked the question two day s before before. Ms. Ross and Ms. Stewart would answer every shear question I ever had and also would show me how to perform the task. And finally to my favorite, Ms. McIntosh, who showed me everything I know about clipper s and believed in me when people in my family laughed at me when I said I want ed to become a barber . And if anybody know s me , y'all knew how I took that . And last but not least , my two skills U S A national gold medal champion s , teammates , . D Andre Johnson and Tia know Bowers. I we all grew frustrated with each other at times but when independent was time to pull together to get the gold medal we pulled it together . To everyone , I thank y'all for coming out . I respect and appreciate everybody 's hard work to get to where we got . And remember when we get out in the field , every day isn't going to be fun , some day s are going to be frustrating . But always bring your effort and keep respect for everybody and we'll find a way to be successful . >> Can we give K a m another round of applause . (Applause) Now, please welcome Jessica Green, Dean of the TCAT, who will introduce the graduates them and invite to walk across the stage to receive their diplomas and certificates. Afterwards, Dr. Rebecca Ashford, President of Chattanooga State will offer remarks and then the recessional will begin. Please stand during the recessional wait and for all graduates to exit the gym . Thank you all for being with us today . >> JESSICA GREEN good morning morning. Graduates , you are going to look to the marshals and they'll tell you when to stand , approach and then line up . I will read your name , you will walk across the stage , get a fake diploma because your real that pro ma will be diploma will be mailed to you . Shake the hand of Dr. Rebecca Ashford Ashford and then have your seat . I will begin with the barber ing graduates . And our first graduate of the day D'Andre Johnson , K a m Johnson Johnson. Adrian bower s . Kirese Putman . Juan Lucas Tercero . Mark Bennett I will now begin reading the names of our building construction technology graduates . Eddy Lucas . . Erlin Verdugo . I will now begin reading the names of our business office special specialist graduates . Lovey Wakefield . Nadia Jones . I will now begin reading the names of our computers support tech graduates . John Jordan . Douglas McClure . Qawntez Young . James Herrington . Zachary Taylor . Jeremiah May . Tristan Mullins . David Brant . Matthew Nelson . Gwyneth White . Ta'niyah Johnson . Alphonso Few . Jaylen Sampler . I will now begin reading the names of our cosmetology graduates . Maddison Beach . Mersadeze Deloach . Morgan Nevels . Alissya Popoca . Luz Gonzalez Alberto Heidi Chavez . I will now begin reading the names of our commercial truck driving certificate graduates . William Bigelow . Richard Elliott . Tyler pow wel P o w e l l . Andre Williams . Brandon Brooks . Anthony Kitchen . Jamaal Hicks . Anthony Hambrick . Janiah Elliott . Cordale Bonner . I will now begin reading the names of our practical nursing graduates . Mandi Moffitt . Sean Deberry . Meagan Dowlen . Alexis Gunther . Kelsey Harriman . Ashley Kendrick . Danette Harris . Azia Price . Esther Davis . Aislinn Ramirez Cruz . Peyton Scheunemann . Abby Roberts . Shelby Thomason . Lusely Velasquez Perez . I will now begin reading the names of our electrical industry graduates . Alexis Paiz-Ramon . Zachary Barcelona . James Adkins . Benjamin Bullard . Jameson Reeves . Donmenick Dodds . Demaishawn Earls . Johnny McFarland . Joshua Weeks . Kendall Stolpmann . Kevin Jefferson . I will now begin reading the names for the graduates in industrial maintenance maintenance and neck on the tic s tic m e c h a t r o mechatron i c s . Ashton Colon . Wilson Bernabe . Johnathan Smith . Brody Pleasant . Daniel Cooper . Jeremy Harvey . Jeffrey Aaron . Owen Montgomery . I will now be reading the names for our H V A C technician graduates . Milik Beck . Caleb Hickman . Bryson Davis . Benjamin Kemplin . Jarod Garcia . Garrett Thompson . Michael Russell . Jacob Gish . Brian Karr . Charles Williams . I will now begin reading the names of our weld ing technology graduate s . Andrew Brown . Ansel Azuara . Andrew Picinini . Brandon Havens . Ethan Womac . Valkin Giersdorf . Johana Gutierrez-Garcia . Layla Whitaker . Hulon Dunn . Edy Xiloj Hernandez . Jabin Nicholas . Efren Guerrero . I will now begin reading the names of our machine tool technology graduates . Austin Higdon . I will now begin reading the names f 0 our medical assist ing graduates . Katie Cunningham . Sarah Kirk . Briceyda Ambrocio Aguilar Aida . Breanna Holloway . Candice Jordan . Breanna Foster . Cheyenne Rollins . Brittany Anderson . Shaniah Jones . Gracie Madden . I will now begin reading the names of our surgical technology graduates . Cynthia Watson . Alisa Scott . Allison Rowlls . Summer Triplett . Olivia Gaston . Cassidy Gibson . Jenna Snow . I will now begin reading the names of our automotive technology graduates . Charles Edwards . Casey Durham . Destiny Welty . Heather Olson . Justin Castro Arellano . Jimmy Gomez Velasquez . Keyon Herndon . Davy Vicente . Brallan Ramirez . Eric Lopez-Perez . I will now begin reading the names of our collision re pair technology graduates . Michael Keel . James Brown . Shawn Chunn . Catarina Domingo Francisco . Bryan Escobar . Nathaniel Godinez Lopez . Tomas-Francisco Gaspar . Dan Reed . Eric Walker . I will now begin reading the names of our diesel technology equipment graduates . Charlie Harless . Deckar Baldwin . Wyatt Daniel . I will now begin reading the names of our landscape and turf management graduates . Tommie Dean . I will now begin reading the names of our motorcycle and marine service technology graduates . Mitchell Barron . Shaun Delaney . Darrell Dolan . John Dye . Coltan Hickman . Caleb Toliver . I would now like to invite Dr. Rebecca Ashford Ashford up to the podium so that she can say a few words . >> DR. ASHFORD well congratulations to the Chattanooga State community college T C A T class of 2024 ! You did it ! All right . All right . We can party hard in just a minute . Graduates, as you move on to the next phase of your I lives, encourage you to approach life with a sense of gratitude. The great author and motivational speaker Zig Zigler once said, The greatest source of happiness is to be grateful at all times. We all have the ability to create our own happiness, and it starts with gratitude. Along those lines, I d like to thank the many people who helped have today s graduates get to where they are today. we have an amazing faculty and staff all throughout this room who have help ed our graduates in the classroom and out of the classroom . Faculty and staff , if you could please stand so they that we can recognize you . Come on . Thank you . (Applause) . You've help ed your students create bright future s . Thank you . And none of our graduates would be here today without their family member s and friends who have support supported them throughout their entire lives and certain ly through this educational journey . If you're a family member , friend or support er of one of today 's graduates , please stand so we can recognize you . (Applause) . This is your day too ! Today we celebrate your accomplishment of getting a valuable education that will lead to the start of a career. You will have many opportunities in your future career s and lives . But I want to warn you , these opportunities might not always come with a pretty red ribbon tied around them . In the words of Thomas Edison, Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work. You will have the opportunity to work late, take on new projects, or learn new skills . I encourage en you , take these opportunities . These are the tunes that will lead tunes that opportunity ies that will lead to your success . As you move on to this next I phase your career, of urge you to keep learning. Henry Ford once said, Anyone who stops learning is old, whether 20 or 80 . The great greatest thing in life lifer to life to keep your mind young is to keep learning . Graduates, I challenge you to continuously out move of your comfort zones to learn new technologies and approaches to your job. While you are well prepared for the jobs of today, the jobs of tomorrow will require you to constantly adapt and learn new skills. Don t limit your learning to your job. Learn about the world. Learn a new language. Learn to paint. Learn to cook. Your mind is no different from your biceps or your quads, if you want it to grow, you must keep it working. Graduates, as you move forward from today, remember that it s the little things that make a difference in and your life in the world. Hold the door open for someone else. Say please and thank you. If you make a mess -- all the mother s in the room -- clean it up . As Admiral William H. McRaven advised in his graduation speech at the University of Texas, Make your bed. He shared that in Navy Seal training students must make their beds to perfection each day. In our bed own lives, making your each day gives you a sense of accomplishment before the your rest of day begins. If you have a bad day, at least you get to come home to a tidy bed. Make your bed. Do the little things right and you can accomplish the big things. One last piece of advice , graduates , comes from Mr. Mr. Rogers . There are three ways to ultimate success: The first way is to be kind; the second way is to be kind; the third way is to be kind. In our world today, we see too many examples of a lack of kindness. We see people using their words as weapons. We see constant examples of the need to be right coming before the choice to be kind. I hope that you will make a different choice and choose to use your words and deeds to lift others up. I am so grateful that you chose to pursue your education at Chattanooga State. I hope that your I education has changed you. hope it has helped you to grow intellectually and personally and challenged you to think in new ways and to learn new skills. I hope your life is better because of your education here. Now, go out and make the world around you a better place! Will the graduates please rise. All right . Upon recommendation of the faculty of the Tennessee College of Applied Technology at Chattanooga State Community College, and by the authority vested in me by the Tennessee Board of Regents, I hereby confer upon you the certificates and diplomas which you have earned. You may now your tassels right from to left side of your mortarboards. move . Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the Chattanooga State Community College TCAT class of 2024! We will now begin the recession fall . All right a l . All right .