GARDNER — Mount Wachusett Community College will be holding its commencement ceremonies in person for the first time since 2019 on May 18 at 6 p.m. In addition to the graduating Class of 2022, members of the 2020 and 2021 classes have also been invited to participate in the ceremony.
“We are thrilled to be returning to an in-person commencement,” states MWCC President James Vander Hooven. “The celebration of the achievements of our students is such an inspirational and motivational moment for all of us here at the Mount. I look forward to watching as our students walk across the stage again.”
Graduates will be joined by Keynote Speaker Chris Gabrieli, Chairman of the Massachusetts Board of Education.
Chairman Gabrieli has been at the forefront of education policy and innovation for over 20 years. Gabrieli was appointed to the Board of Higher Education by Gov. Baker in March 2015 and serves as a lecturer at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education. He is the Co-Founder, Partner and CEO of Empower Schools, a national non-profit K12 innovator.
As Chair of the Board of Higher Education, Gabrieli has worked with the Commissioner and the 29 public campuses to support educational opportunity of hundreds of thousands of students. Gabrieli has been instrumental in the promotion of the Massachusetts Early College Initiative.