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In the News...
May 6, 2005

Graduates Academic Accomplishments Are Highlight of Lake-Sumter Community College Commencement

LEESBURG - Two hundred and seventy-five graduates are now members of Lake-Sumter Community Colleges Class of 2005. Hundreds of families, friends and LSCC personnel attended the 42nd Annual Commencement Ceremony, on Friday, May 6, to acknowledge and celebrate the many accomplishments of these LSCC students.

Prior to being awarded her degree in nursing, Student Commencement Speaker Delrose Tobie spoke to the assembly on the importance of getting an education. Inspired by her Jamaican parents, both advocates of learning, the 44-year-old LSCC alumna plans to continue her studies and work toward a four-year degree.

Lake-Sumter Community Colleges graduates are consistently in the top-ten percent of the most academically-successful students graduating from four-year universities. The Class of 2005 will certainly validate this state-wide reputation. Eight graduates were recognized for earning perfect 4.0 grade point averages. For this accomplishment Mel Blakeslee, Lorrie Chappell, Lyndajoy Griffin, Candice McRoy, Robert Regenhardt, Brent Stephens, Kevin Vickers and Michelle Williams were presented Academic Excellence Awards. Eighty-one students garnered Summa Cum Laude honors (3.80-4.0 GPA), forty-five graduated Magna Cum Laude (3.60-3.79 GPA), and sixty graduates earned Cum Laude (3.4-3.59 GPA) degrees.

Another prestigious award is the Presidents Award, given to one student each year for leadership, service and scholarship. It is by far one of the toughest decisions I make, said Dr. Charles Mojock. There are always so many deserving students. This years impressive nominees were: Lorrie Anne Chappel, Anne Gercken, Kathy Montaudo, Diana Robinson, Angela Roof and Kaitlyn Wagner. Graduate Joel Hughes was selected to receive the 2005 honor. An LSCC Ambassador, Joel participated in the Student Government Association, served as an assistant theatre director, represented the student body on the Colleges Planning Council and served as a College Diplomat. In addition to the Presidents Award, Joel earned membership in the community college academic honorary Phi Theta Kappa, a position on the All-USA/All-Florida Academic Teams, and first-place awards for his entries in LSCCs literary magazine Odyssey. He was also selected as one of only twenty college/university students to be featured in Florida Leader magazines Florida College Student of the Year Award issue. A community volunteer for Habitat for Humanity and the YMCA, Joel single-handedly doubled participation in campus blood drives. If there is an event at the College or if someone needs help, Joel is always there to pitch in with a cheerful, upbeat attitude, added Dr. Mojock. Joel plans to move to Cambridge, Massachusetts, and enroll in the Harvard Extension School. With a goal of earning an ivy-league Bachelors degree, Joel plans to study economics and English, and possibly become a teacher.

Other super-students include three dual-enrollment graduates, who earned both their LSCC Associate in Arts degrees and their high school diplomas simultaneously. They are: Emily Perkins of Leesburg High School, and home-schooled students Lauren Atchley and Elizabeth Haynes.