CTC Graduation set for May 9

Central Texas College (CTC) will hold its spring commencement ceremony on May 9 at the Bell County Expo Center beginning at 10 a.m. to recognize nearly 350 graduates. Associate degrees in applied science, arts, science, general studies and certificates of completion will be presented to students from across Texas and CTC continental campuses across the globe.

Keynote speaker for the graduation will be State Representative Jimmie Don Aycock. Other speakers are Charles Baggett, chairperson – CTC board of trustees, and Major General Don Bolger, commanding general of First Cavalry Division on Fort Hood.

This year's graduating class includes students traveling from CTC sites around the United States including Arkansas, California, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, North Carolina, New York and Oklahoma to participate in the procession. Students from CTC campuses in Europe and Asia will also make the trip to receive their degrees.

During the ceremony, CTC will recognize Micah Ables, associate in science degree, who received an appointment to the West Point Military Academy. Ables also served as Student Government president and captain of the CTC Speech Team. He received numerous awards at the state and regional level in impromptu speaking and debate. At the national speech tournament last month, Ables was named the winner of the Warren-Dahlin Fellowship Award which is voted on by his peers and personifies the student that best exemplifies the values and ethics of speech competition.

Other graduation tidbits:

Graduates include 193 Army soldiers, 78 family members of a soldier and 58 civilian dependents; eight

Marines, three members of the Navy and two National Guard members. 42 graduates were part of the CTC eArmyu tuition assistance program.

The average age of the graduates is 31 years with the oldest graduate being 63 years of age. The youngestgraduate is 19 years old.

The graduating class consists of 232 females and 110 males.

The breakdown of associate degrees earned was 152 in applied science, 117 general studies, 46 associate of arts, six associate of science and 21 certificates of completion.

One married couple, Patrick and Miranda Goins of Killeen, will both receive associate in applied science (information technology) degrees.