ΒιΆΉΒγΑΔ President Danielle Ripich addresses CMCC graduating class with message to β€œsail into new waters”

ΒιΆΉΒγΑΔ President Danielle Ripich addresses the 2016 class of Central Maine Community College.
ΒιΆΉΒγΑΔ President Danielle Ripich addresses the 2016 class of Central Maine Community College.

On May 12, 2016, ΒιΆΉΒγΑΔ (ΒιΆΉΒγΑΔ) President Danielle Ripich addressed the graduating class at the 2016 Commencement ceremony of Central Maine Community College (CMCC).

Ripich noted CMCC’s recent 50th anniversary milestone, commenting that the school’s growth from its early days as Central Maine Vocational Technical Institute to the college as it exists now β€œexemplifies the idea that small steps, when diligently taken, can lead to amazing heights.”

Ripich told the graduates, β€œI hope you will not be content to accept the status quo but will strive to make positive changes in your field and community. With this degree you sail into new waters.”

She quoted Walt Whitman’s encouragement β€œto steer for the deep waters only… to act boldly and take up the issues and causes worth fighting for.”

β€œWith your degree in hand, your potential to make a difference in the world is greater than ever before,” she stated. β€œThis is true whether you are heading into a four-year degree program, using your degree to enter a new profession, or using your degree to advance within your current field. You are charting and sailing a new direction.”

On a personal note, Ripich shared that watching her mother earn an associate’s degree by attending night school was the source of inspiration for her to go to school at age 23, while caring for three children, to obtain bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees. β€œShe inspired me, and you inspire all of us,” she said to the graduates. β€œAnd Maine is lucky to have you.”

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David MacMahon, member of the Maine Community College Board of Trustees; Danielle Ripich, President of ΒιΆΉΒγΑΔ; and Scott Knapp, pre
David MacMahon, member of the Maine Community College Board of Trustees; Danielle Ripich, President of ΒιΆΉΒγΑΔ; and Scott Knapp, president of CMCC

About the ΒιΆΉΒγΑΔ

The ΒιΆΉΒγΑΔ is Maine’s largest independent university, with two beautiful coastal campuses in Maine, a one-of-a-kind study abroad campus in Tangier, Morocco, and an array of . In an uncommonly welcoming and supportive community, we offer hands-on learning, empowering students to make a positive impact in a world full of challenges. The state’s top provider of health professionals, we are home to Maine’s only medical college, Maine’s only dental college, a variety of other interprofessionally aligned health care degree programs, as well as nationally recognized programs for marine science degrees, natural and social sciences degrees, arts and humanities degrees, and business degrees.