Graduation Guide for AACC 49th Commencement

Anne Arundel Community College is setting new records this year in the number of graduates, degrees and certificates awarded at its 49th Commencement on Thursday.

Over 600 graduates from the Class of 2011 have received caps and gowns for the ceremony. The college is reporting that the Board of Trustees approved the award of about 2,088 degrees and certificates for the Class of 2011 compared to 1,814 degrees and certificates for the Class of 2010.

Nancy S. Grasmick, Ph.D., state superintendent of schools, will be delivering the keynote address. Grasmick is the longest-serving appointed state schools superintendent in America who plans to retire June 30. Grasmick made history in 1991 as Maryland’s first woman selected to serve as state superintendent of schools.

Valedictorian is Dysha Huggins-Hodge, a transfer studies major who earned much of her 4.0 grade point average through online classes while deployed in Afghanistan.

According to AACC, graduates must report to Jenkins Gymnasium by 5:30 p.m., when instructions are given and the procession line assembles. The ceremony begins at 7 p.m., rain or shine.

College officials are urging families to arrive on campus by 6 p.m. if they wish to be seated in the tent on the Athletic Practice Field; only those with guest tickets may sit in the tent. When guest seats fill in the tent, overflow guests will be directed to the air-conditioned simulcast site at the Pascal Center for Performing Arts.

The ceremony will air live on the college website, www.aacc.edu, and via AACC TV, which is Anne Arundel County cable TV Channel 95 for Comcast and Broadstripe customers and Channel 35 for Verizon customers. The college will rebroadcast commencement on the channel several times after the event.

A reception for graduates and their families will take place in the Student Union following the ceremony. For more commencement information, call 410-777-2243.