The northwest Illinois community and friends of Highland Community College are invited to join the 2019 graduates and their families as they celebrate the 56th annual Commencement Ceremony at 10 a.m. on Saturday, May 18, Highland Community College, 2998 W. Pearl City Rd., Freeport, Ill.
The ceremony is outdoors on the HCC campus in Freeport. Commencement will take place at the courtyard between the Marvin-Burt Liberal Arts Center and Natural Science Center. Guest parking is located in lot D on the south side of campus outside of the Natural Science Center/Ray and Betty Stamm Health Science Nursing Wing.
The commencement speaker is Cristina Lambert, a recipient of the 2018 Distinguished Alumni Award. After graduating from Highland Community College in 1978, she earned a Bachelor’s degree from Indiana University and a Master’s of Business Administration at Indiana Wesleyan University. Her distinguished career includes serving as a Customer Service Manager for Contel, Assistant Vice President of Customer Care for GTE, and is now retired as a past President/CEO of Verizon Puerto Rico.
Luthien Jonis of Montaña, Curacoa will give the Student Commencement Speech. He studies Vocal Music Performance at Highland and has been accepted at North Central College in Naperville.
The “Greetings to the Class of 2019” will be presented by Highland alumna Brittany Blomberg, DO. After graduating from Highland, she earned a Doctorate of Osteopathic Medicine from Des Moines University and now practices Family Medicine at Monroe Clinic. Dr. Blomberg is a past presenter at Highland’s Women in Science program.
The College is expecting a large number of participating graduates, so, guest seating is limited and available in the order of arrival.
In case of inclement weather, the ceremony will be held in the Larry F. Kahl Gymnasium located in the YMCA/Sports Center on Highland’s campus. Due to the large number of graduates, tickets are required to attend the ceremony if held in the YMCA/Sports Center.