As the 2009-10 school year ends at Sinclair Community College, the Registration and Student Records department is getting ready to give another record number of graduates their diplomas, according to interim registrar Tina Hummons.
Hummons said a potential 3,823 students will graduate this year. More than 700 graduates will walk at the commencement ceremony at the University of Dayton Arena on June 11 where Sinclair President Steven Johnson will hand them their cover letter. Spring quarter alone has potentially 1,588 students who will receive an associate’s degree and a short term or regular certificate from the college.
Student Akmal Ergashev is graduating with a Liberal Arts degree with an emphasis on sociology and psychology and will be one of the two flag barriers at the commencement ceremony. Ergashev is an international student and a member of Phi Theta Kappa, Toastmasters, Muslim Student Association and Global Awareness and Action. He will also be presenting the Students Support Sinclair (S3) Scholarship to Johnson with Jeffery Gerken, a Surgical Tech major who also is graduating this year.
Ergashev said his time at Sinclair has been rewarding and he will always be grateful for the people who have helped him throughout the past two years.
“This has been the greatest experience ever in educational growth and personal growth,” he said. “There are so many opportunities here at Sinclair and so much support educationally. I have been lucky enough to be a part of those groups and make friends who I believe will always be there.”
Nicholas Voegel will be graduating this summer with a Fine Arts degree and said the college has a great staff that has provided him with all of the things he needs to move on to a four-year university.
“My time here has been great,” he said. “The school has a very welcoming environment and the staff here is the best at providing the tools you need for success. Other schools don’t have stuff like that. I’m definitely going to miss it.”
Ergashev said he has mixed feelings about graduating, but one thing is for certain – he is definitely going to miss everyone.
“I feel happy and sad at the same time. Happy that I am finally able to have my first associate’s degree and move on to get my four-year degree,” he said. “ But at the same time it is a sad moment. I have gotten so used to the environment, the people and the professors here. It will be a sad transition to another college, but I know that I will keep in touch with the people I have met here and that’s what keeps me going.”