Commencement 2025
HCC to celebrate Class of 2025 at 78th annual Commencement
Holyoke Community College will celebrate its 78th Commencement ceremony on Saturday, May 31, at the Mass Mutual Center in Springfield.
The ceremony begins at 10 a.m.
This year, HCC will confer associate degrees and certificates to about 700 graduates from the class of 2025.
The procession of graduates into the arena and the keynote address will be delivered by the yet-to-be named recipient of the Marieb Award of Teaching Excellence, HCC’s highest faculty award.
A handful of students from this year's class will also be featured on the Commencement stage.
Human services major Isa’Rose Ramos ’25 of Westfield will deliver the student address to her classmates. Alexandria Casavant ’25 of Northampton, a fall graduate now studying music at the University of Massachusetts, will present the class gift. Liberal arts and music major Makayla Nelson ’25 of Ludlow, the student performer, will sing “This is Me,” by Keala Settle.
HCC President George Timmons will present Distinguished Service Awards to four individuals for their work on behalf of the college:
Auto dealer Gary Rome, an HCC Foundation Board Member, passionate advocate for HCC, donor, and a driving force behind HCC’s annual Together HCC fundraising campaign; Susanne Campagna, education director for the Hampden County Sheriff’s Department and chief facilitator of the department’s culinary arts training program at HCC; David Gadaire (posthumous), the late, long-time leader of MassHire Holyoke (formerly Holyoke Works); and Trudy Monson ’97, a long-time volunteer and current president of the HCC Alumni Association.
For those who cannot attend in person, HCC will stream the Commencement ceremony live over the Internet. The live stream will be available through a link on the main page of the college website, www.hcc.edu, where other details about this year's Commencement can also be found.
The ceremony will be American Sign Language interpreted.
PHOTO: Graduating student Makayla Nelson will be the student performer at Commencement 2025 on May 31.
