College of the Rockies President and CEO, David Walls, presided over the College’s 39th convocation ceremony on Friday, May 29.
In his address, Walls commended students for their courage in pursuing education as a means to transform their lives and encouraged them to continue to be lifelong learners into the future.
The ceremony began with the presentation of academic medals. The Lieutenant Governor’s Silver Medal, awarded to a student who has exceled in a vocational or career program and who contributed in a positive way to life at the College, was presented to Chantelle deJersey. Chantelle completed the Certified Dental Assistant program and plans to continue to remain and work in Cranbrook.
The Governor General’s Bronze Medal, considered to be the greatest honour that can be bestowed upon a graduate of a two-year program, is awarded to the student who has achieved the highest academic standing upon graduating from a two-year diploma or associate degree program. This year’s recipient was Kyler Robertson. Kyler graduated from the Business Administration Marketing program and has recently returned from studying in the Dominican Republic on a scholarship where he was able to complete some of his College of the Rockies courses online. Kyler will be returning to the College to complete the Bachelor of Business Administration program.
Hannah Van Der Roest was the recipient of the President’s Award of Excellence. This award is made possible through donations from College staff, faculty and management and is presented to a first- or second-year student, planning to complete a four-year degree at the College or elsewhere, who has achieved the highest cumulative grade-point average. Hannah studied sciences at the College earning a 9.8 (out of ten) grade-point-average. She will be transferring to Simon Fraser University to work toward a Bachelor of Science, after which she hopes to attend medical school to possibly become a pediatrician.
“It was a great thrill to present, along with our Board Chair Dave Handy, these medals to such worthy recipients. I am proud of each and every one of our graduates and to the terrific team we have in place at the College that played a part in each of their success stories,” Walls says.
Photographs of the graduation ceremony can be found on the College’s Facebook page: facebook.com/cotr1. Learn more about College of the Rockies at: cotr.ca