SIERRA VISTA — Cochise College will hold its 47th commencement ceremony at 7 p.m. Friday, May 11, for the first time at the Sierra Vista Campus. Students completing their first and second years of the nursing program will participate in a pinning ceremony at the campus the evening before, May 10. Both events will be broadcast live on the college website.
This year, the college will award more than 1,100 associate degrees for the summer, fall and spring semesters, and more than 350 students are expected to participate in commencement ceremonies. The event will take place on the lawn adjacent to the Andrea Cracchiolo Library. Online streaming will allow viewers to see everything from the processional to the last graduate crossing the stage.
Motorists should be aware of heavier-than-usual traffic in the area of North Colombo Avenue on the day of commencement. Those attending graduation will be directed by campus security to enter through the South entrance and exit through the North entrance. Commencement exercises begin at 7, but the campus will begin to fill with cars around 5 p.m. The students’ reception will follow the ceremony.
The student speaker at the ceremony will be Antoinette Pike, who is an All-Arizona Scholar, president of the Sierra Vista Student Government Association, former secretary of the Alpha Mu Zeta chapter of Phi Theta Kappa, past vice president of the Literary Guild, and a student in the Cochise College Honors Program.
Two former members of the college’s faculty, Ruth Britton and Roger Weller, will also be honored as the latest confirmed as faculty emeriti, the highest honor awarded by the college.
Britton served the college for 12 years in liberal arts before retiring in 2006, working as an instructor of developmental reading, the chair of two different departments, and briefly as the associate dean of the Douglas Campus. She remains active in the community since retirement, working with the Cochise Education Foundation, the Sierra Vista Regional Health Center Foundation and continuing service with the Arizona Governor’s Commission on Service and Volunteerism.
Weller retired from teaching full-time in 2010, after 36 years at Cochise College, but he continues his work as a member of the associate faculty. He has instructed students in anthropology, geology, physics, math, and even photography. He served as the department chair of science and the associate dean of science, math and behavioral sciences. His Virtual Geology Museum website was ahead of its time and has been viewed by thousands around the world.
A special pinning ceremony recognizing this year’s nursing class will be at 7 p.m. May 10 at the Sierra Vista Campus. About 120 students will participate, with first-year students recognized for earning certification and second-year students honored for earning their Associate of Applied Science degree, making them eligible to take the exam to become a registered nurse.
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