Montgomery County Community College’s 55^th Commencement will celebrate the accomplishments of its graduates during three ceremonies Thursday, May 19, on its Blue Bell Campus, 340 DeKalb Pike.

The in-person, drive-in ceremonies will be held at 10 a.m., 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. in the Morris Road parking lot, rain or shine. Students and their families will park in the lot and sit next to their vehicles. All graduates will have the opportunity to walk across the stage to receive their degrees and certificates. A livestream will be available on MCCC’s website starting an hour before each ceremony.

MCCC President Dr. Victoria L. Bastecki-Perez, MCCC Board of Trustees Chair Varsovia Fernandez, Montgomery County Board of Commissioners Chair Dr. Valerie A. Arkoosh, MCCC Foundation Board Chair Joseph W. Gallagher and MCCC Alumni Board Chair Bill Vitiello will share remarks. MCCC Vice President of Academic Affairs Dr. Gloria Oikelome will present the teaching excellence awards and present the candidates for degrees and certificates.

This year’s commencement song, “Montco Family,” with words and music by Colin Foley, was engineered, produced and mastered in MCCC’s professional Mix Room by Director of Sound Recording and Music Technology David Ivory, Assistant Professor of Music Michael Kelly, Engineers Evan Healy and Quinn Szentz and Senior Producer and Technical Services Manager Matthew Porter. It includes students Summer Ashley, Ricky Valentine, Anthony Cheney, Marley McElrea, Vern White, Justin Fisher, Sara Menezes, Grace Wynn and Ariel Olsher and faculty/staff members David Ivory, Michael Kelly, Sarah Kane, Ron DiSilvestro, Howie Gordon and Matthew Porter.

MCCC’s commencement student speaker is Clintaysha Hampton, 25, of Plymouth Meeting who will be graduating with her Medical Assisting certificate – the first step toward her goal of becoming an endocrinologist.

When growing up, Hampton witnessed her mom struggling with health problems associated with Type 1 diabetes. She felt powerless when she would visit her mom in the hospital and be unable to do anything to make her feel better. Yet she also saw the way health care workers sprang into action to help and it left a lasting impression.

“I knew I wanted to be in those shoes, those scrubs – to make that difference for someone, even if it was the smallest difference,” she said. “To be the one to make sure that someone got back to their loved ones in better condition than when they came to me.”

After she graduated from Norristown Area High School in 2015, felt she needed to do something with her life to make her powerless feeling go away. She figured if she studied hard, maybe she could land a job in health care, too, and bring with her the tools and knowledge to begin to help others just like her mom.

While she was in high school, she Hampton enrolled in a biomedical technology course at Central Montco Technical High School to get a head start. Then after high school, she saw an advertisement in her local pharmacy looking for technicians 18 and older to work in the store, so she applied and got the job. She did that for two years before deciding it was time to go back to school. She started her first semester at MCCC in the fall of 2017 and took a job as a server to help pay for tuition.

She ended up dropping out after one semester. Looking back, she said she didn’t have a clear enough goal in mind when she started school and took on more than she could handle.

“I was living on my own. And having to write a three-page essay, after working an eight-hour shift on my feet, wasn’t something that I wanted to do,” she said. “I eventually became very drained, trying to juggle it all.”

When she tried to enroll again shortly thereafter, she became pregnant with her daughter, Naiomi, and knew she wouldn’t be able to balance being a mom with work and school just yet.

“Learning to fit your usual work and school schedule around someone who doesn’t yet grasp the concept of time is difficult, to say the least,” she said.

Finally in 2020, Hampton made the decision to go back to MCCC and enroll in the Medical Assisting Program. This time it all worked out. The program was perfect for her. It gives students experience in the administrative and clinical sides of medicine, enabling them to perform numerous medical assistant roles in physicians' offices, hospitals and other health care facilities. She loved the fast pace and hands-on work environment.

“It’s been great,” she said of her experience at MCCC. “I’m 100 percent more confident.”

Her daughter is also three years older, and Hampton said she’s been the motivation she needs to keep going when times get hard.

“She’s the reason I finished,” she said. “She gave me the push every day to get out of bed. I wanted a better life for her. So, in order to make something better for her, I have to make something better of myself.”

Next for Hampton is an externship this summer at a nearby medical facility. She needs to complete 160 hours of field training to officially complete the program. After that she plans to work in a trauma center, and then continue her education with the goal of one day becoming an endocrinologist.

“Endocrinology is the study of diabetes and hormonal imbalances,” she said. “I would go with my mom to her appointments, and I loved her doctor. He let me ask questions and saw how invested I was and gave me a shadow tour for the day. I just fell in love.”

Her mom, by the way, is doing much better, she said.

“No more hospital stays,” she said.

Hampton said her speech at commencement is meant to inspire the next generation of MCCC students to look to her as an example. While the road to her graduation took many unforeseen twists and turns, ultimately, it led to a happy ending.

“I want to show people that this is doable,” she said. “Believe in yourself and have a support system. I want to thank my parents, my beautiful daughter, my semester sisters and the faculty and staff at Montco for helping me get to where I am today.”