{"id":142744,"date":"2025-05-26T08:37:26","date_gmt":"2025-05-26T12:37:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=142744"},"modified":"2025-05-26T08:37:26","modified_gmt":"2025-05-26T12:37:26","slug":"ncc-students-graduate-this-spring-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=142744","title":{"rendered":"NCC Students Graduate This Spring 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"

NCC Students Graduate This Spring 2025<\/strong><\/p>\n

BETHLEHEM, PA<\/strong>\u00a0–\u00a0During the week of May 19, two ceremonies were held for Northampton Community College (NCC) graduates, one at Bethlehem campus and one at Pocono campus. This spring\u2019s graduating Class of 2025 tops the charts at 708 students, the largest since spring 2019. The class featured diverse graduates ranging in age from 17 to 69 and hailing from different countries including Egypt and Colombia. Twenty-five students graduated with a 4.0 GPA.<\/p>\n

President of NCC,\u00a0David A. Ruth, Ph.D.<\/strong>, gave the definition of what it means to be NCC strong, saying, \u201cThere is demand for NCC graduates because employers and four-year institutions know that when an NCC grad walks through their doors, they\u2019re getting someone with grit, determination,\u00a0and the skills to succeed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAll of you have incredible stories. All of you have overcome some sort of challenge to get to this commencement stage. All of you deserve recognition for your hard work and dedication to pursuing your education and your goals,\u201d Dr. Ruth said to the graduates.<\/p>\n

David Robertson<\/strong>\u00a0was the commencement speaker for the Bethlehem ceremony. As the founder of JOSHWAY, he is reshaping the nonprofit landscape by integrating emerging technologies and empowering the next generation to dream boldly and act courageously. In his address, he said, \u201cYou’re not a blank canvas; you\u2019re a masterpiece in progress. Your job is not to accumulate titles or impress people. Your job is to chip away the fear, the doubt, the pressure, until your purpose emerges. So, I ask,\u00a0\u2018how will you choose to play this thing called life?\u2019\u00a0The world is sitting on the edge of its seat just waiting for you to rise and take your place. The world doesn\u2019t need another copy of someone else. It needs you, the real you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pike County Commissioner and Pocono commencement speaker,\u00a0Christa Caceres,<\/strong>\u00a0made history when she became the first African American elected to the office in the county\u2019s 210-year history, and she\u00a0encouraged graduates to make history themselves: \u201cEmbrace your unique possibility and walk confidently in your destiny. Whatever you do, do not freeze in place. You\u2019ve got somewhere important to be.\u201d<\/p>\n

The commencement address at each campus was followed by the presentation of the President\u2019s Commencement Scholarship, awarded to\u00a0Zach Palomba-Frechette and\u00a0Brianette Ramirez,<\/strong>\u00a0given in honor of the ceremony\u2019s commencement speaker. Additionally,\u00a0Adam Sbardelli\u00a0<\/strong>was honored with the Trustee Award. Sbardelli was recognized by fellow students and faculty members for possessing outstanding leadership qualities.<\/p>\n

NCC enjoys a long-standing tradition of involvement and participation by its alumni in every aspect of college life.\u00a0William R. Rowe III,\u00a0<\/strong>class of 2013 alum and global head of electronics communications compliance at Cantor Fitzgerald,\u00a0welcomed Bethlehem graduates into the Alumni Association as they shifted their tassels from right to left.\u00a0HR Recruiting Coordinator at Camelback Resort and\u00a0<\/strong>member of the Class of 2017,\u00a0Quetcy Dueno,\u00a0<\/strong>did the same for the Pocono graduates. The NCC Alumni Association is one of the oldest continuously active community college alumni associations in the country, the association boasts 60,000 members and will celebrate its 50th anniversary this fall.<\/p>\n

Applause filled the campuses as graduates crossed the stage and accepted their diplomas, cheered on by their proud loved ones.<\/p>\n

Please see, photos and stories at\u00a0https:\/\/www.northampton.edu\/news\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n

About Northampton Community College<\/strong><\/p>\n

With an enduring commitment to the regional communities it serves and a focus on student success, Northampton Community College is an educational institution of extraordinary distinction, earning accolades at the state and national levels for innovative programs, outstanding faculty, and impressive student achievements. It counts among its successful alumni a four-time Pulitzer Prize winner and an Academy Award winning director, as well as a host of CEOs, presidents, and leaders of business and industry. Today, Northampton Community College has locations in Bethlehem, Southside Bethlehem, and Monroe County, serving 30,000 students annually from 53 counties, 42 countries, and 25 states. For more information or to apply, please visit\u00a0northampton.edu<\/a>.\u00a0Follow NCC’s President on X\u00a0@NCCPresDaveRuth<\/a>, and the college on\u00a0LinkedIn<\/a>, Instagram\u00a0@NorthamptonCommCollege<\/a>, TikTok\u00a0@NorthamptonCC<\/a>, and\u00a0Facebook<\/a>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NCC Students Graduate This Spring 2025 BETHLEHEM, PA\u00a0–\u00a0During the week of May 19, two ceremonies were held for Northampton Community College (NCC) graduates, one at Bethlehem campus and one at … Continue reading NCC Students Graduate This Spring 2025<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":114454,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[69,5738,482],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-142744","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-in-the-valley","category-northampton-county","category-press-release-2"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/nccc.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/142744"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=142744"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/142744\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/114454"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=142744"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=142744"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=142744"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}