Skip to main content

Graduates Encouraged to Find “Opportunity in Every Challenge” at 2018 Commencement Ceremony



More than 3,600 graduates, ranging in age from 16 to 69, were honored Friday morning at the Maverik Center in West Valley City during commencement exercises for Salt Lake Community College. This year’s graduates include 1,553 students who are the first in their families to receive college degrees and 144 military veterans.

Most of this year’s graduates earned degrees from the school’s General Studies program followed by business, nursing, psychology, computer science, criminal justice and health sciences.

The event’s keynote address was given by New England Patriots wide receiver, 2017 Super Bowl Champion and award-winning children’s book author Malcom J. Mitchell, who reminded graduates that while the “climb to the top of the mountain” is full of challenges, every challenge provides an opportunity.

Malcom J. Mitchell

Mitchell shared a story about how his mother inspired him to keep playing football when he wanted to quit. He talked about overcoming numerous injuries to eventually become a Super Bowl champion with the Patriots. The four keys to success, he said, are simply to do what you say you’re going to do, be on time, say ‘thank you,’ and treat every day as a new opportunity. “When you follow these steps, you won’t have to find success, I promise you,” Mitchell said. “Success will begin to look for you.”

Also, during the event, SLCC Association President Aynoa Rincon encouraged her fellow graduates to keep learning and “never to lose faith in life.”

Aynoa Rincon

“Learn new languages, new cultures, travel, help and serve your community, learn how to work with other people who have a different perspective from yours and respect them the same way you would like to be respected,” Rincon said. “Don’t let other people’s opinions drag you down, even when they say you’re wrong. Follow your intuition in your heart – it somehow already knows what you truly want to become.”

SLCC President Dr. Deneece G. Huftalin also addressed the graduates. “Let yourself be silently drawn by the strange pull of what you really love,” she said. “It will not lead you astray. I hope throughout your life you will find a way to tap into the magnetic force of what you really love and let it silently guide you.

Dental hygiene graduates celebrate.

In addition to recognizing its 2018 graduates, SLCC awarded Ashok Joshi and Pam Perlich with honorary doctorates. Both have made significant contributions to SLCC and the community over the years. Joshi is a past SLCC trustee and most recently served as the executive director of Technology Holding, LLC. Perlich is currently serving as Director of Demographic Research at the Kem C. Gardner Institute at the University of Utah. She previously taught economics at the U of U and Westminster College.

Angela H. Brown, executive director of SLUG Magazine and Manoli Katsanevas, owner of Manoli’s restaurant were honored with SLCC’s 2018 Distinguished Alumni Award. In addition, three college faculty members, Gordon Storrs, Dr. Kristen Taylor and Dr. Deidre Tyler, received this year’s SLCC Teaching Excellence awards. 

Several students were also individually recognized with the college’s 2018 Graduates of Excellence awards. Honorees include Aaron Hornok, Alondra Melendez Rivas, Blake Hrubes, David Johnson, Ethel Wilson, Febechukwu Megwalu and Nathan Le Duc. Also receiving special recognition was Utah State Senator Evan J. Vickers, who was named as SLCC’s Legislative Champion.


Popular posts from this blog

SLCC Automotive Repairs

Click to enlarge. Attention: SLCC Students, staff and faculty! Many SLCC automotive programs need vehicles to work on in these areas: 30 point inspections Oil changes Tire rotation Engine repair Brake systems repair Automatic and transmission repairs Air conditioning repair Electrical troubleshooting & repair Suspension & steering system repair Auto-body repair and painting (on a very limited basis) Please be advised that any repairs are done at the discretion of the instructors due to the subject areas they are teaching.  Because we are using your vehicles for training purposes, we offer members of the College discounts on parts and labor. Parts are at our cost plus 15% and the service fee is $20 per hour based on industry time standards (if the industry assigns an hour for a repair, that's all you're charged for, regardless of how much time it takes the student). We can also offer these services to non-college personnel on a limited basis with...

SLCC All Access

Did you know you can access SLCC lab software for free from your own computing device?   Come learn how SLCC is supporting BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) with All Access. The goal of All Access is to provide any time, any place, and any device access to college computing and lab software SLCC students, faculty and staff.  All Access works on almost any device from a PC or Mac, to tablets and smart phones.  With All Access you can use programs like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Publisher, AutoCAD, MatLab, Mathematica, MyITLab, NetBeans, and online Library Databases.  We also provide you with online storage space so you can save your files in the cloud and have access to them wherever you are.  Anyone is welcome to this session where we will cover the basics of All Access, give you some tips and tricks for getting the most out the system, and we’ll also have some people there to help get your computer set up.  When and where: ...

SLCC Alumnus and U.S. Diplomat to Speak at 2025 Commencement

Salt Lake Community College’s 2025 Commencement speaker Branigan Knowlton will share his perspectives drawn from a 12-year career as a Foreign Service Officer with the U.S. Department of State. In serving his country, Knowlton has honed his foreign relations and diplomacy skills in Hong Kong, Mexico, Colombia and Italy. Knowlton is also a proud Salt Lake Community College (SLCC) alumnus (2002).     Knowlton currently serves at the U.S. Embassy in Rome. Before reporting to the embassy, he was detailed to the Italian Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport as part of the Transatlantic Diplomatic Fellowship program. In Bogotá, Knowlton worked for the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement, and in Hermosillo, Mexico, he worked for the Bureau of Consular Affairs. His first assignment abroad was in Hong Kong, where he worked for the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs.     "I've actively sought opportunities that push me into the unfamiliar, even when ...