{"id":30987,"date":"2025-05-16T09:28:46","date_gmt":"2025-05-16T13:28:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/?p=30987"},"modified":"2025-05-16T09:28:46","modified_gmt":"2025-05-16T13:28:46","slug":"dccc-celebrates-more-than-1200-graduates-at-2025-commencement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/?p=30987","title":{"rendered":"DCCC celebrates more than 1,200 graduates at 2025 Commencement"},"content":{"rendered":"
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DCCC students celebrate their graduation.<\/p><\/div>\n

On a day emphasizing the importance of never giving up on the desire for a college degree and using education to follow one\u2019s flame, more than 1,200 students graduated from Delaware County Community College with associate degrees and\/or certificates. On Thursday, May 15, the College held two separate Commencement ceremonies at West Chester University\u2019s Hollinger Field House.<\/p>\n

The morning ceremony was for graduates of the Business, Computing & Social Science and Workforce & Economic Development divisions, and the afternoon ceremony for graduates of the Allied Health and Nursing, Communications, Arts & Humanities and STEM divisions. Presiding over Thursday\u2019s ceremonies were DCCC President Dr. Marta Yera Cronin and Dr. David Grossman, chair of the College\u2019s Board of Trustees.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt DCCC, support is everywhere.\u201d said Saroor Dhanju of Chester Springs, the student Commencement speaker, a graduate of Downingtown STEM Academy High School. \u201cI have never felt so seen and understood, with such a deep sense of belonging. I found confidence, care and community in all corners of the College.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dhanju, who majored in Social Work, was president of DCCC\u2019s Student Government Association and a Flame Ambassador, serving as a peer mentor for enrolled students. She plans to pursue her bachelor\u2019s and master\u2019s degrees and become a licensed social worker. \u201cAt DCCC I rekindled my spark, followed my flame, and have had incredible opportunities to help light the way for others.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alum Elisa Ford \u201912 of Yeadon, a SEPTA executive, mother of eight and the assistant coach of the DCCC Phantoms Track and Field team, was the alumni Commencement speaker. Under her tutelage and that of head coach Cara Fordenbacher, six DCCC Phantoms track and field athletes qualified for and excelled at the NJCAA National for the 2025 NJCAA Division III Track & Field Championships, May 8-10 in Utica, NY.<\/p>\n

\u201cBe unstoppable! DCCC has equipped you with the tools to be whatever you want to be,\u201d Ford said. \u201cDo not allow past challenges to stop you from reaching your goal. Run through the obstacles, jump over the hurdles, catapult yourself into whatever you want to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ford holds a bachelor\u2019s degree, magna cum laude, in Biblical Studies from Lancaster Bible College and a master\u2019s degree in Nonprofit Organization Management from that institution. In August 2025, she will begin pursuing a Ph.D. in Biblical Studies at Queens College of Theology. Ford is the 2024-2025 recipient of the Wong Moss Outstanding Alumni Award, one of the most prestigious honors the DCCC Educational Foundation<\/a> bestows.<\/p>\n

The most represented majors in DCCC\u2019s Class of 2025 were Business Administration, Nursing, General Studies, Liberal Arts and Computer Science.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On a day emphasizing the importance of never giving up on the desire for a college degree and using education to follow one\u2019s flame, more than 1,200 students graduated from Delaware County Community College with associate degrees and\/or certificates. On Thursday, May 15, the College held two separate Commencement ceremonies at West Chester University\u2019s Hollinger […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":30986,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[3623,3162],"class_list":["post-30987","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-delaware-county-community-college","tag-featured"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30987","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=30987"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30987\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30988,"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30987\/revisions\/30988"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/30986"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=30987"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=30987"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=30987"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}