'The True Spirit of HCC'
"Each of you has a unique story that brought you to this moment, but you all share this in common – the passion and determination to earn your college degree.” – President George Timmons
Even though it is still 2025, Holyoke Community College recently celebrated its first batch of graduates from the Class of 2026 with a special recognition ceremony.
HCC honored 190 students at its third annual Fall Graduate Reception on Dec. 1 in the college theater. All of them will complete their graduation requirements by the end of the fall semester. They are also all invited to walk again at HCC’s 79th Commencement ceremony on May 30, 2026.
“You represent the true spirit of Holyoke Community College,” said HCC President George Timmons. “Each of you has a unique story that brought you to this moment, but you all share this in common – the passion and determination to earn your college degree.”
Two of those stories were shared from the theater stage by fall graduates Jamal Cumberbatch and Sachelys Perez.
Cumberbatch, a liberal arts major from Springfield, talked about the challenges and frustrations of starting out as an older student working three jobs to make ends meet.
He was 27 when he first enrolled, he said – “Cold. Tired. Worn out.”
“Two years ago, I spent more time in my car than in my bed, chasing paycheck to paycheck to survive,” he said. “Two years later, I’m walking across my first stage since middle school.”
His HCC advisers and teachers helped him find his way forward.
“This school gave me direction,” he said. “My classes gave me knowledge. The staff gave me goals to reach for, and their networks gave me realistic opportunities. But all of you, this community, gave me a sense of belonging and support that I didn’t even know I needed.”
Cumberbatch is hoping to continue his education in the fall at either Williams College or Princeton University.
Similarly, Perez, who lives in Ware, went to work straight out of high school. She had college dreams, but her job as an elementary school paraprofessional meant she could only take classes online or at night.
A psychology class project made her hungrier to learn, and a new job as a recovery support specialist on the 3-11 p.m. shift gave her the opportunity to take in-person classes with the goal of completing her associate degree in two years.
She made it.
“I balanced a full-time job, a 45-minute commute, and all my coursework without ever giving myself a real break,” she said. “I still attended campus events because I genuinely wanted to be part of this community. I did all of this, not because it was easy, but because I was determined, and, today, I’m standing here as proof that it is possible.”
Perez was accepted to both Westfield State University and Amherst College, where she plans to continue studying psychology in hopes of one day becoming a trauma therapist.
“This is my story,” she said, “but it is only one story in a room full of determination and perseverance.”
“We’re proof,” Cumberbatch said, echoing the night’s theme, “that full-time cooks, delivery drivers, single parents, gym rats, and even all-night gamers – anyone with a passion, a dream, and drive – can do this.”
Graduates were seated on the theater stage and called up one by one to receive a yellow stole from President Timmons, which they can wear along with their caps and gowns at the spring Commencement. A post-ceremony reception was held in the Campus Center for fall graduates and their families.
“This is really just the beginning of your celebrations as a college graduate,” Timmons said. “On May 30, at the MassMutual Center in Springfield, we will come together again and formally welcome you as HCC alumni with all the tradition and ceremony that moment deserves. But today we honor you because what you have just achieved deserves immediate recognition.”
“You are now part of this institution’s legacy,” he said, “and that legacy will continue long after you walk across this stage.”
See more photos from the Fall Graduate Reception in our Facebook photo albums, Part I, and Part II.
PHOTOS: (Above) President George Timmons, center, with student speakers Jamal Cumberbath and Sachelys Perez after the 2025 Fall Graduate Reception.
