Broward College Celebrates May 2022 Graduates with Commencement Ceremony at the Broward County Convention Center

FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (May 2, 2022) – Broward College will host its commencement for Spring 2022 gradates on Thursday, May 5, at 1 p.m. at the Broward County Convention Center in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

This term, the College will award more than 3,700 certificates and degrees. Among them, 2,328 associate degrees, 833 technical certificates, and more than 240 bachelor's degrees. Graduates range in age from 16 to 71 years old.

Jacky Wright, corporate vice president and chief digital officer of Microsoft US, will deliver the commencement speech. Wright is a U.K. native who was not initially interested in IT and instead pursued political science in New York City. Ultimately, after finding she loved the field, Wright went to school and graduated with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Computer Science and Accounting from Baruch College’s Zicklin School of Business. Following that decision, her career was set on a trajectory that took her through many senior positions at BP, Andersen Consulting, and General Electric. In 2011, she began working at Microsoft, serving as the company’s VP of IT Strategic Services. Wright was recently recognized by U.K.-based Power Media as “The Most Influential Black Person in Britain.”

The ceremony will also feature remarks from Broward College President Gregory Adam Haile, J.D., College Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs Dr. Jeffrey Nasse; and Broward College Board of Trustees Vice Chair Reggie Zachariah.

Below are stories of several notable May 2022 graduates:

Lucila Marquez came to the United States as an asylum seeker from Venezuela. A member of the opposition party, she served prison time in municipal jail for expressing her political views. After Lucila’s grandson told her that he’d rather have a grandmother who lived far away than a grandmother who could be killed at home, she decided to leave her family and relocate to the United States. After filing for asylum status, she received an information packet in which she learned about Project RENEW (Refugees Entering New Enterprises and Workforce), a Broward College program that provides free English for Speakers of Other Languages for eligible refugees, asylees, and victims of human trafficking living in Broward County. Through RENEW, Lucila learned soft skills that would help her apply for a job as a translator. Her success with the program led her to take even more classes at Broward College. She taught English grammar in Venezuela and hoped to return to that career field one day. And today, she will earn her associate degree in Arts, Humanities, Communication and Design. When she walks across this stage to receive her degree, she will be one step closer to trying her hand at teaching once again.

Rafael Perez experienced some of the best hands-on training in the world during his 12-year stint as a Hospital Corpsman in the United States Navy. At Broward College, Rafael was looking for a program that would meet the same standards. He wanted a program that would put emphasis on hands-on training rather than theory alone and one that worked for him as a veteran. He learned that Broward College is designated as a Military Friendly institution that offers a variety of programs to Veterans, in-service personnel, and dependents of deceased or disabled Veterans. After speaking to advisors and other professionals from the College, Rafael knew he wanted to make the shift from the medical field to Information Technology through the Broward College’s Bachelor of Applied Science in Information Technology degree. Rafael’s decision to choose Broward College has led him to accessible and efficient certifications all while making his résumé more attractive to potential employers.

Maalik King wants to use the lessons he learned from his own education to provide crucial learning opportunities for those he will serve.  He was enrolled at Broward College as an Exceptional Student Education major when he volunteered to participate in a Free Book Day at C. Robert Markham Elementary School in Pompano Beach, handing out books and helping to mentor students with reading difficulties. Doing so brought up some challenging memories from his own childhood—and the misguided attitudes some of his teachers held. He recognized he needed to be more connected if he planned to really help students like him. He joined the Professional Enhancement Program, Minority Male Initiative, Greatness in the Making, Reading L.Y.F., Minority Teacher Association, and BC Pride. They helped his interpersonal communication, professionalism and collaborative skills, all while providing him with support from peers. After graduation, Maalik plans to refine his professional development and classroom experience as a general education teacher, an ESE teacher, and a support facilitator.

Brenda Amaya graduated from South Broward High School in the early 1980s. Following that, she found a job as an administrative assistant at a South Florida-based engineer consulting firm that designed highway interchanges. Brenda quickly showed that she had what it took to move up in the company. But after nearly 32 years, Brenda knew it was time for a change if she wanted to keep growing. Brenda found another job where she noticed many of her entry-level colleagues with college degrees were making considerably more in salary, though often with less experience. She decided it was time to go back to school and enrolled in the Associate of Science in Business Administration program. She was able to utilize the College’s Prior Learning Assistance Program to earn credits toward her degree. And Brenda’s not done yet. She hopes to follow this great accomplishment with many more.

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