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St. Petersburg College Graduates 1,030

Graduation | Commencement | TB Reporter

Graduates ranged in age from 17 to 72.

PINELLAS COUNTY – More than 350 graduates of St. Petersburg College crossed the stage during the 131th Commencement Ceremony at First Baptist Church of Indian Rocks on Saturday (July 23).

A total of 1,030 students earned 1,046 degrees from SPC this term, President Bill Law told the crowd of well-wishers.

Bill Law | St. Petersburg College | President
Bill Law

Graduates ranged in age from 17 to 72, with 15 graduates who were older than 60. With this graduating class, the college has awarded 156,574 degrees since the college was founded in 1927.

Among other milestones, SPC celebrated other accomplishments. Since 1927, the college has awarded

  • 122,737 associate degrees
  • 9,906th baccalaureate graduate
  • 2,406thbaccalaureate nursing graduate
  • 1,071th baccalaureate elementary education teacher graduate

Sane Haidara, an international student from Timbuktu, Mali, addressed fellow graduates and guests.

“I encourage you, graduates of today, to use the skills and knowledge you learned at SPC to help your communities through civic engagement,” Haidara said. “By doing so, you will not only make a difference in the world but you will also feel a sense of great accomplishment.”

At St. Petersburg College, Haidara served as the vice president of SPC’s ICMA (City/County Management Association) and received the 2016 Most Engaged International Student award. He participated in Phi Theta Kappa, the American and Arabic Cultural Association and served as the former president of the International Club. Haidara’s mother traveled to St. Petersburg from their home in Mali to see her son graduate.

Also addressing guests, Darcy Warms, who was graduated with an AA degree.

“SPC helped me academically and personally, faculty was always there for me,” Warms said. “We all fail sometimes, we are all humans. All we can do is grow from our mistakes.”

For information about St. Petersburg College, go to spcollege.edu. To see photographs from the graduation, go to the college’s Facebook page.

St. Petersburg College | Graduation | Commencement | Bill Law | Sane Haidara | TB Reporter

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