LEWISTON — When Brooke Nelson first started classes at Central Maine Community College in Auburn, she found the work tough.
“It was hard at first because I wasn’t used to it,” said the Westbrook woman, who graduated from high school in 2022. “But I got through it.”
Central Maine Community College 2024 graduate Megan Sorel takes a photo of a classmate while waiting for the start of Thursday night’s commencement at the Colisee in Lewiston. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal
She got through it because the faculty helped her along, but a large part of Nelson’s success also came in the form of the bonds formed with her peers.
“I made a lot of friends,” said Nelson, who graduated Thursday night with a degree in social services. “We came here in a huge group. And we’ve got other friends here who aren’t graduating just yet, but they’re here to support us, so that feels really nice.”
Shelby Sue Doody of Waterville also graduated from high school a couple years ago. Now she’s graduated college after studying psychology, as well.
“But I met a lot of people in different programs,” she said, “so that was a good experience.”
The college graduated 321 students Thursday night. In and around the Colisée in Lewiston, it was a scene familiar to anyone who has been to a CMCC graduation.
There were those who were just starting their lives collecting diplomas next to seniors and the middle aged who went back to school after decades out of the classroom. That includes 81-year-old Kathryn Welgoss, of Auburn, who graduated with a degree in general studies.
The diversity of the graduating class was something noted by commencement speaker, Ilunga Mutombo.
“In this arena, we have people from all walks of life,” Mutombo noted in his address. “We have young students who currently finished their high school degrees, fathers and mothers who just went through a midlife crisis — trust me it’s crazy — older grandparents who took on courses to motivate their grandchildren; we have employees who were fired from their previous jobs due to not having the right credentials. We have asylum seekers who are chasing the American dream; we have immigrants who were denied employment opportunities due to their degrees from their current countries not meeting the American credentials.
“In this arena,” said Mutombo, who graduated from CMCC in 2011 after an eventful journey that took him from Zambia to Maine, “we have champions of today and tomorrow.”
Central Maine Community College Class of 2024 Marshal Denis Bouttenot leads the graduates Thursday night during commencement at the Colisee in Lewiston. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal
Mutombo also noted that this particular class was in school when the horrifying shooting occurred in Lewiston on Oct. 25, 2023. The trauma of that sad night was one more thing the students had to contend with while finishing their studies.
In the end, it proved to be a life lesson for the graduates.
“We show resilience in the face of adversity,” Mutombo said. “We show that resilience has no limits. You were all impacted in one way or another. You were asked to keep studying, and pursuing your dreams in the middle of the greatest tragedy that took place in our state. You are true heroes in my book. We will rebuild and find strength again.”
David Daigler, president of the Maine Community College System, had a similar observation. Although their curriculum did not include classes informing the students on how to cope with such traumatic events in their community, those students learned to cope nonetheless.
“You have learned the greatest lesson of all,” Daigler said. “You have learned the value of resilience, of determination, of persistence.”
Student speaker Winnie Larochlle, a 2023 graduate from CMCC’s criminal justice program, advised students that their graduation is just the beginning.
What they make of their lives now depends entirely upon them.
“On your tombstone it shows the date you were born and the date that you pass,” Larochelle told the class. “Each of you has the opportunity to write your own story which lies within the dash between those two dates.”
Central Maine Community College 2024 graduates march as supporters cheer them on during Thursday night’s commencement at the Colisee in Lewiston. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal
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