COMMENCEMENT 2006:
A CELEBRATION OF STUDENT SUCCESS

“You’ve come this far—and your education will launch you wherever you want to go or whatever you choose to do.”
– Governor Chris Gregoire, keynote speaker, 2006 Clark College Commencement 

Commencement 2006 was a landmark event at Clark College. 

For graduates, it was the culmination of work, dreams and hopes -- the affirmation of student success.

    
Above left:  Clark College Mascot Oswald salutes the class of 2006.  Above right:  Director of Student Life Karen Brown congratulates a graduate.
 
For Clark College, it marked the first time in the College's nearly 75-year history that the Governor of Washington State has attended the Clark College Commencement ceremony.  
 
Above left (left to right):  Clark College Trustee Sue Fratt, President R. Wayne Branch, and Governor Chris Gregoire and (above right) Clark College faculty members smile at graduates as they enter the Clark College Amphitheater for Commencement 2006. 
 
The ceremony, which was held at the Clark College Amphitheater on June 15, featured the Fort Vancouver Pipe Band and the Clark College Women's Choral Ensemble (below right), under the direction of April Duvic. 
 
   
Clark-Vancouver Television (CVTV) provided coverage in the Amphitheatre during commencement and aired the ceremony in the days following so the community could witness the event.
   
In addressing the Class of 2006, Governor Chris Gregoire (seen in the photo on the left with Board of Trustees Chair Kim Peery) said, “Your education will launch you wherever you want to go or whatever you choose to do.” 
         
Gregoire challenged the graduates to make a difference by “creating a world class education system for all students to succeed, protecting our environment for the next generation and generations not yet born, and building strong communities by giving of oneself.”
  
The Presidential Scholarship Award was created to help a Clark College student take the next step in their education through a full-time, two-year tuition waiver at Washington State University Vancouver. 
    
During the 2006 commencement ceremony, Clark College President R. Wayne Branch announced the 2006-2007 scholarship winner, Pamela M. Sullivan of Vancouver.  Sullivan attended Clark College from 2002-2006, majoring in social science.
     
In her application, Sullivan (seen on the left with Governor Gregoire) wrote, “Higher education is important to me because I have lived a life without it…My husband and I believe that the best teacher is example, so here I am, following my children’s examples, as they are, all three, college graduates.” 

Sullivan hopes to earn her baccalaureate degree and eventually teach paralegal classes at Clark College. 

        
Mariah Acton (below left) and Sarah Craciun (below right), Clark College graduates who are members of the 2006 All-Washington Academic Team, addressed the audience. 
       

Craciun, who, like Acton, was a Running Start student, added, "Being slightly intimated on my first day of class at such a large and diverse school, I decided that in order to succeed in the academic classroom, I must apply myself. I did this, and Clark has given me opportunities I hardly thought possible.
I have become a confident student. I have learned valuable lessons inside and outside the classroom that I will take with me throughout my life."
                   
Acton told her fellow graduates, "It is apparent to me that each of us as unique individuals has chosen a path on which we hope to find something greater than ourselves.  For some of us, Clark is but the first step on such a journey, while others may have finally found at Clark what they have sought for so long—whether that be academic success, community involvement, or the appreciation of one’s personal strengths and more importantly, the acceptance of one’s weaknesses.  All of this I have found at Clark College and I hope you have too."
   
During the 2005-2006 academic year, 1136 men and women earned degrees and certificates from Clark College.  Twenty-two Clark College students graduated with highest honors for achieving a 3.9 grade point average (GPA) while completing a two-year program.
    
 

In addition, 59 Clark students earned their degrees through the Running Start program – graduating from high school and Clark College at the same time.   Two graduated with perfect 4.0 GPAs. 
          
     
For nearly 75 years, Clark College has been committed to helping each student achieve his or her dreams.   

That may be the ultimate definition of student success.
      

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