Local Residents Graduate from Goodwin College

In her Commencement address to the Goodwin College Class of 2012, Board of Trustees Vice Chair Maria Ellis made it clear that the students were Navigators in their own right.

Goodwin College celebrated its 13th Commencement on Saturday, holding the ceremony on its River Campus. Ellis congratulated the 534 graduates, many of whom were first generation college students, and urged them to celebrate their milestone.

"I expect that for each of you, there are parts of this journey that have been the most difficult trials of your life," Ellis said. "And yet, as true Navigators, you have kept afloat, shot the rapids, and docked here safely."

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The following local students were members of the Class of 2012:

Somers resident Nicole Adams

Ellington resident Kristie Frey

Ellington resident Tembra Gregus

Somers resident Kathleen Ellis

Ellington resident Jennifer LaFlamme

Ellington resident Cheryl Smith

Ellington resident Tonia Brothers-Mason

Ellington resident Cassandra Laliberte

Ellington resident Carley Durkin

Somers resident Kelly Desso

President Mark Scheinberg used skydiving as a metaphor to describe the student experience at Goodwin.

"There's an element of us taking the jump together," Scheinberg said.

Graduate Bryce Russell reflected on the event that changed his life – seeing his best friend gunned down in Hartford. After that, Russell said, he found himself through education, the Boy Scouts, positive role models, and faith.

Russell paused at the end of his speech, found his mother in the crowd, and uttered the words he had promised her. "Momma, I did it," he said, drawing a roar of applause.

At the commencement ceremony, Goodwin bestowed an honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters to longtime Connecticut Senator Christopher Dodd, who served the state as a congressman from 1975-81 and as a U.S. senator from 1981-2011. Dodd is now the Chairman and CEO for the Motion Picture Association of America.

Dodd congratulated the graduates and urged them to give back to their communities, as well as to appreciate the families who helped them along their paths.

Dr. Philip Lazowski, the esteemed Rabbi Emeritus of the Beth Hillel Synagogue in Bloomfield and author of several books, received his honorary doctorate in a ceremony held Thursday at the College. As he accepted the degree, Lazowski reflected on his experiences as a Holocaust survivor who immigrated to the United States without knowing English, and how education and perseverance led to great things.

Rabbi Lazowski urged Goodwin graduates to not be dismayed by economic troubles or reports of employment difficulty, but rather to never stop knocking on doors.

"Yes, your knuckles may hurt, but you must pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and knock again," Rabbi Lazowski said. "It is the only way to achieve your dream."