Terra State Community College Holds 54th Commencement Ceremony
Terra State Community College honored its 54th graduating class with commencement ceremonies Friday, May 5. Among this year’s class, 191 students earned Associate’s Degrees and 151 students were awarded Certifications during the ceremony held at the College’s Student Activities Center.
Terra State President Dr. Ronald Schumacher congratulated the Class of 2023 on their achievements and wished them much success in their future endeavors. “Graduates, always be proud of your accomplishment, and never stop learning and growing. Remember that no one can take this accomplishment away from you.”
“Over the past several years Terra State Community College has been on a journey – a journey to reinvigorate our campus, our relationships and more over our place as a higher education leader in this city, community, and the region. We will accomplish this by providing distinctive academic programs with competitive academic vigor. And tonight, our graduates are proof of this in action,” Schumacher added.
Terra State Student Government President, and member of the graduating class, Zachary Allgyre gave the student address. He reflected on his journey of joining the workforce after high school but soon realized he wanted something more and enrolled at Terra State to pursue a degree in Agribusiness Management. Today, he is doing what he loves: working on the family farm and taking a lead role in bringing technology to the operation. “Know that if ‘Plan A’ doesn’t work out, your ‘Plan B’ may be a blessing in disguise. Measure your life in acres, not in hours,” he encouraged those in the audience.
The commencement address was given by Jeff Doepker, president and CEO at Findlay-based The Doepker Group. Mr. Doepker encouraged the graduates to embark on their path forward to always build strong relationships with the people they interact with. “We must make a conscious effort to care, commit and communicate effectively, even when it’s difficult. We must be willing to work through our differences and disagreements, and never take the other person for granted.”
About the Graduating Class
At Terra State’s 2023 spring commencement, the youngest graduate was 17 years old
and the oldest graduate was 56 years of age. Six of the class’s graduates are veterans
and their deployments have included Afghanistan, Iraq and Saudi Arabia. Eleven graduates
are high school students who received their Associate’s degree and will graduate from
their local high schools later this month. And 70 of the graduates had transferred
credits from other colleges or universities to Terra State.
Members of the 54th graduating chose their areas of study from the College’s more than 20 programs tailored to today’s in-demand career fields.