By Wendy Harrison

FRANKLIN

Paul D. Camp Community College will award nearly 300 degrees and certificates at its 48th annual commencement exercises on Friday, May 10, in the Regional Workforce Development Center, 100 North College Drive, Franklin.

In addition to the students’ honors, special awards will be announced during the ceremony. Recipients of the J. Paul Councill Jr. Community Service Award and the Excellence in Education Award will be presented that evening.

The keynote speaker for the event will be 2011 graduate Alice Adoga. Coming to the United States from West Africa, Nigeria, she had to adapt to educational, language and cultural differences. The honor graduate earned an associate’s degree in general studies from PDCCC. While at the community college, she served as a Presidential Student Ambassador, a Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society member, a member of the Student Leadership Committee and the Student Government Association, and an active participant of Student Support Services. She became a U.S. Citizen in 2013.

She continued her education, receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree in 2013 in Psychology from George Mason University and a Master of Arts degree in Human Services Counseling in 2016 from Liberty University. Adoga currently works as director of operations with Walk In It Inc., a non-profit organization whose mission is to encourage and empower girls and women. She also has worked as a family services specialist with the Franklin City Department of Social Services since 2014, where she investigates child protective services cases and serves families in need within the community.

Adoga stays connected to her native country through dance, as she is a certified Kukuwa African dance instructor. She enjoys travel, family and her dear friends. “They add joy to my life daily,” she said.

Honor students, veterans and dual enrollment graduates will be recognized as well during the ceremony, which begins at 7 p.m.

For more information, contact the Office of Institutional Advancement at 569-6790.

WENDY HARRISON is the public relations specialist for Paul D. Camp Community College. She can be reached at wharrison@pdc.edu.