Nearly 5,000 graduates, friends, family, staff, faculty and local officials will attend AACC’s 55th graduation ceremony on May 25.

The 7 p.m. ceremony will take place inside of tents on the athletic practice field on the main Arnold campus. Each graduate will get five tickets to distribute to those they wish to invite.

AACC will announce this year’s valedictorian—the AACC student with the highest GPA—on May 8, after potential candidates with the eligible GPA go through interviews.

The Board of Trustees estimated the price for ceremony equipment could be as high as $140,147. Students will not have to pay a graduation fee this year, according to Melissa A. Beardmore, AACC’s vice president for learning resources management. The fee was waived to save students some money.

Christine Storck, the director of student engagement, said the bulk of the graduation ceremony involves AACC President Dr. Dawn Lindsay’s calling students’ names and having them pose for pictures with her.

“It is always a bit bittersweet,” Storck said. “I will miss some of the students I have gotten to know, but I am also so proud of them for what they have accomplished.”

One student Storck said she is proud to see graduate is Human Services major Nefateya Butcher. Butcher participated in the Student Government Association and the Campus Activities Board, and will be the first person in her family to graduate from college.

Each graduate will wear a cap, gown and mortarboard, which are still available for $49.99 from the campus bookstore. Students needing financial assistance may file a Regalia Scholarship Application to get help with gown, cap and tassel expenses.

AACC officials will award honors, such as cum laude, magna cum laude and summa cum laude to students with eligible GPAs. Students in AACC’s honor societies will graduate with special tassles.

“I am very emotional about leaving AACC,” said Adam Hertz, a second-year Phi Theta Kappa member and the outgoing student member of AACC’s Board of Trustees. “It has been my home for several years and I find it difficult to be going anywhere other than here.”

Students may graduate at the end of any semester as long as they have the required credits. However, the commencement ceremony is only held once a year at the end of the spring semester.
Last year, more than 2,000 students graduated.