May 17, 2008

DURHAM -- As the line of Durham Technical Community College students clad in the school's signature forest green walked across the stage and received diplomas, their family and friends couldn't help but whoop with pride. And they had much of which to be proud.

The school awarded some 580 curriculum associate degrees, certificates and diplomas on Friday at its commencement in Duke University's Cameron Indoor Stadium. In addition, 185 Adult High School and GED students received diplomas.

Beaming with happiness, Joseph and Sheila Russell embraced their son, Joseph, after the ceremony.

"We're very excited, very excited," Sheila Russell said. "It's like, 'Yes! Last one out of the nest,'" the proud father added, laughing.

Friday was also Joseph Jr.'s 20th birthday. He received an Adult High School diploma and plans to enlist in the U.S. Army in June. Durham Tech was where he thrived, he said.

"The teachers are more helpful. They are really supportive," he said.

Student speaker Shanika McKoy likewise thanked her teachers for her success.

She said the enthusiasm of the instructors made the semesters fly by.

"The knowledge passed on to us from our instructors will take us a long way," she said.

McCoy, a single mother with a 4-year-old daughter, completed the two-year Automotive Systems Technology program. Once upon a time, she worked in the administrative department at a college. But what she really loved was working on cars, she said.

She'll never forget the first time she changed the transmission of her mother's car, McCoy said, or when she clocked the fastest time for disassembling and reassembling drum brakes.

"When I think about coming to Durham Tech, I wouldn't have given this a second thought," she said. "We are at the end of one journey, getting ready to begin another."

Nate Smith, McCoy's instructor and director of the Automotive Systems Technology program, had high praises for her after the commencement ceremony.

"A female student is not a novelty," he said. "What made [Shanika] stand out is she was more determined than anybody else. She could've been just good at the paperwork, but she was a standout in the hands-on area too."

"If you love what you do, you will succeed," McCoy said.

And the hundreds of students seated on the floor of the stadium did just that. As they walked across the stage, they transformed from students to professionals, said Bill Ingram, the school's new president.

The school has graduated 20,000 students in its five-decade history, Ingram said in a speech. This year, 50 students are Durham Tech legacies, 70 have family members who are following in their footsteps at the school, and its graduates come from dozens of countries.

"You demonstrate that the desire to learn is universal," he said. "You are now ready for opportunities before you, opportunities to make a difference."

Ingram challenged the students to make a difference in their communities.

"Welcome to the future," he said.