HACC Board of Trustees members, Terry L. Burrows, and Sara N. Prioleau, D.M.D., along with HACC President, Dr. Edna V. Baehre, will present degrees and diplomas to members of the graduating class.
Speakers during the ceremony include Representative Jerry L. Nailor, 88th Legislative District; and a member of the class of 2000, Roshaye P. Dickey, of Harrisburg. An honorary doctor of public service degree will be conferred upon the Reverend William M. Gray, pastor of the First Baptist Church in Cornwall.
Representative Nailor is a HACC alumnus and currently serves on the advisory board for the college's Public Safety Center. He has been a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives since 1989, serving on the House committees on Education, Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness, and Professional Licensure.
Nailor serves on the Messiah College Board of Associates, the Keystone Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America as an honorary board member, and the Board of Directors for the Bethany Development Corporation.
Roshaye P. Dickey, 29, will graduate with an associate's degree in elementary education. She plans to pursue a bachelor's degree by transferring to Wilson College. A single parent, Dickey qualified for Wilson's Woman with Child program, allowing her and her son to live on campus.
An honorary doctor of public service degree will be presented to Reverend William M. Gray, who has worked with HACC, local churches, the YMCA, Boy Scouts of America, Chamber of Commerce of the Greater Harrisburg Area, and other community organizations that promote access to educational opportunities. Working with HACC, Reverend Gray¹s leadership has extended to student recruitment, staff recruitment, student development, and promotion of HACC programs and activities, all with the goal of providing education for citizens in the tri-county area.
Reverend Gray received the Hamilton School PTO Service Award, the C.O.B.B.E., Dedication and Outstanding Service Award, and the Nimrod Consistory No. 9 Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Free Masonry Award. In 1990, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award GLO. He served as president of The Interdenominational Ministerium of the Great Harrisburg Area in 1991. He has received the Harrisburg Gospel Music People's Choice Award, and continues to perform and to encourage other young musicians. Currently, Reverend Gray is working toward a master's degree in theology at Trinity Theological Seminary.
Music for the graduation ceremony will be provided by the Bill Hicks Brass Ensemble.
Note: In the event of inclement weather, the ceremony will be held in the Cooper Student Center.