MCC Confers Degrees and Certificates to the Class of 2022 in 58th Commencement Exercises
MANCHESTER, Conn. (May 26, 2022) – Manchester Community College today conferred 701 degrees and certificates to the Class of 2022. These were awarded to 669 individual graduates at the 58th annual commencement ceremony held this evening, Thursday, May 26.
Graduates from 92 towns in Connecticut, as well as Florida, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon and Texas were awarded associate in science degrees, associate in art degrees and certificates. The youngest Class of 2022 graduate is 18 years old and the oldest is 81. Honors graduates include 118 cum laude, 88 magna cum laude and 48 summa cum laude.
Stefan Hall, of Windsor, and Amanda Phillips-Bosshart, of Vernon, are co-valedictorians for the Class of 2022. The salutatorian is Emily Jane Li Jajliardo, of Storrs/Mansfield.
The three are also recipients of the Board of Regents Medallion for Academic Excellence. The Board of Regents Medallion is awarded at each of the 12 community colleges to graduating students who have earned perfect 4.0s and who have completed at least half of their requirements at the college where the degree is being awarded. MCC Class of 2022 recipients of the Board of Regents Medallion also include Jessica Shumbo, of Salem; Juana Elizabeth Calle, of East Hartford; and Victoria Eisenhauer, of Norwich. All are also graduating summa cum laude.
Co-Valedictorian Stefan Hall told his classmates, “Each and every one of you stand here, having accomplished an incredibly important goal and milestone. You set out to acquire an education, pursue a dream and otherwise improve yourselves and your lives. You saw an opportunity to do so and seized it, using all the tools you had available to succeed.”
Co-Valedictorian Amanda Phillips-Bosshart, in her address, said, “Don’t become complacent or remain unhappy just because you are too scared to see what would happen if you took that giant leap into uncertain waters. It is never too late to change your outcome. Figure out what inspires you, lights a passion within you, and follow it.”
The speaker was Connecticut State Senator Saud Anwar, deputy president pro tempore. Since 2019 he has represented the residents of the Third state senate district towns of East Hartford, East Windsor, Ellington and South Windsor. He is a medical doctor with specializations in treating lung diseases and critical care medicine, and occupational and environmental medicine. He currently serves as chair of the Department of Internal Medicine at Manchester Memorial and Rockville General Hospitals.
