Fallen Springfield Police Officer Kevin E. Ambrose, killed in the line of duty on June 4, 2012, received a Distinguished Alumnus Award.
Gov. Deval L. Patrick, left, and Springfield Technical Community College Ira H. Rubenzahl are seen on the podium at the 2013 STCC Commencement at the MassMutual Center in Springfield on Thursday evening. SPRINGFIELD - As Springfield Technical Community College graduated its largest class in its history, keynote speaker Gov. Deval L. Patrick told each member of the Class of 2013 he or she is living the American dream.
What dreams those were came in many different forms.
Approximately 1,077 students in the Class of 2013 will receive associates' degrees and certificates from the community college on State Street. Many will go on to four-year colleges, according to STCC officials. Graduates earned diplomas in science degrees, arts degrees, cosmetology, occupational therapy, nursing, biotechnology and dental hygiene, among dozens of others.
Carrying banners for their respective specialties, they walked a red carpet and filled the arena at the MassMutual Center on Thursday night for the 46th commencement, with family and supporters cheering them on.
The class included conventional students and the unconventional, ranging from ages 19 to 70. Its chairman of the Board of Trustees, Hector Toledo, is an alumnus and banking executive who worked his way up from a line teller.
"I'm sure every one of you benefited at some point in your life from a mentor," Toledo told the graduates, billing his father as his own. "I hope you remember to thank those who have guided you .. To the Class of 20113 - go out and make a difference."
"Graduates, you have not made this journey alone," said College President Ira Rubenzahl, who highlighted a state earmark of $1.2 million to renovate the mechanical engineering department.
"I simply want to honor this remarkable community," Patrick told the crowd, lauding the diversity of the class, and harkening back to the seemingly dismal landscape on the South Side of Chicago when he was growing up in the 1950s.
"Everything seemed broken. Sidewalks. Playgrounds. Families. There was a lot we didn't have," Patrick said, adding that committed parents kept communities together.
Figuring prominently into Patrick's address was the Boston Marathon, the riveting and horrifying events of that day and those that followed. He said the tragedy highlighted perhaps many of the state's first responders' and citizens' finest moments.
"Out of the dust of tragedy, the spirit of community emerged," he said. "America is not organized the way countries are usually organized. We are not organized around a common language or religion or even culture. We are organized around a handful of civic ideals."
In addition to the graduates present, former student Reign Salois received an honorary degree posthumously. A graduate of Westfield Vocational Technical High School, Salois was hit by a drunk driver, leaving him paralyzed. He died suddenly of heart failure in 2005.
In addition, Springfield police officer Kevin E. Ambrose, killed in the line of duty on June 4, 2012, received a Distinguished Alumnus Award. Ambrose was shot to death during a domestic disturbance call while protecting a young mother and her 1-year-old child.