Springfield, MA
SPRINGFIELD — Speaking to more than 1,100 graduates at Springfield Technical Community College’s 50th commencement Thursday night, U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal, D-Springfield, called their accomplishments a triumph of “optimism and determination.”
“The degree you receive is more critical than ever,” Neal told members of the Class of 2017 who gathered at the MassMutual Center to receive diplomas and certificates.
“The unemployment rate for the college-educated in America today is under 4 percent,” he added.
The combination of training and education received at STCC “will set you on a course for a good job, and jobs are desperately needed across the country,” Neal said.
Family and friends cheered the graduates as they entered the packed sports arena. The class — ranging in age from 18 to 73 — earned 704 associate in science degrees, 258 associate in arts degrees, 134 certificates of completion and 31 certificates. More than half of the graduates are older than 25, and 55 percent are women, college officials said.
Neal, the ranking minority member on the House Ways and Means Committee, said graduates will play a crucial role filling a “skills gap” in the national economy, referring to the shortage of workers trained in technical fields.
“You can pass all the infrastructure and health care packages in the world, but if you don’t have workers to carry out those policies, we indeed will accomplish little,” the congressman said.
The school, founded on the grounds of the historic Springfield Armory, has shaped the lives of its graduates just as the armory shaped the history of the nation, Neal said. “Your pledge, as you leave this area tonight, should be that you intend to shape history too,” he said.
“You say it best: STCC works,” Neal said, referring to the school’s motto.
“Congratulations from the United States of America,” he added.
Other speakers included STCC President John B. Cook; Christopher Johnson, chairman of the school’s governing board; and students Michael J. Capozza and Shannon B. Martin. An honorary degree was awarded to Elizabeth A. Almeida, who worked for 18 years as a supervisor in the Student Accounts Office before her death in 2015.
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