MAYS LANDING – Each year, Atlantic Cape Community College’s Center for Student Success (CSS) Graduate Awards ceremony recognizes the academic accomplishments of students from all ages and backgrounds, both traditional and non–traditional students alike.
Seventy–one–year–old rising General Studies graduate and Atlantic City resident Leon Kerrison has proven that age is not an impediment towards attaining a college degree when the will to succeed is strong.
“My pastor really encouraged me to go college. I went to the campus in Atlantic City, I signed up and I got in. You know, at times it was rough, but I didn't worry about that. Sometimes I didn't do good, but I said in my heart I just want to keep going. I knew I was going to make it in the end. So, this day right here, I can look back and say I've done it,” said Kerrison.
Originally hailing from Mullins, South Carolina, a small town of slightly more than 4,000 inhabitants 20 minutes from the North Carolina border in northeast South Carolina, Kerrison has spent his life working various jobs from a drugstore and numerous restaurants to most recently at the former Revel Casino Resort (now Ocean Casino Resort) in Atlantic City until its closure in 2014.
Decades after finishing high school, Kerrison said he was eager to enroll at Atlantic Cape when he moved to New Jersey because he saw it as a tremendous opportunity. While completing his studies, Kerrison, who proudly stated that he never missed one day of class, took advantage of the College’s Student Support Services (SSS) and Educational Opportunity Fund (EOF) to assist him.
With graduation just weeks away, Kerrison isn’t content to stop his educational journey now.
“Right now, I'm trying to find a seasonal job because I am going to Stockton University in the fall for business finance,” said Kerrison, who received a Counselor’s Award on this day from the CSS for his outstanding academic achievement.
This year’s CSS awards was held on May 1 in the Walter E. Edge Theater on the Mays Landing campus. The ceremony began with 46 graduating students receiving a certificate signifying their academic achievements. Many of those students bestowed upon a College faculty or staff member the Extra Miler Award for going above and beyond to help them succeed during their time at Atlantic Cape. Overall, nearly 260 students were recognized for their successes as a CSS-eligible student.
Rising graduate and student speaker Alexander Barr, who will be receiving his Associate Degree in Media Studies, discussed the transformative environment Atlantic Cape provided for him which allowed him blossom personally and academically.
“I didn't walk into Atlantic Cape the person you see standing here. I walked in uncertain and unsure. I like to think that I arrived here as a caterpillar, and somewhere along the way, through the people I met, the challenges I faced and the support that I received, I was given the space to grow, struggle and change,” said Barr, who is currently the president of the Esports and Media clubs, as well as a member of the Chi Alpha Epsilon and Phi Theta Kappa honor societies.
“In a few weeks, we don't just get to walk across that graduation stage, we get to fly across it. Atlantic Cape has been a beautiful garden and every one of us started as a seed. The people here from our professors and mentors to our support teams have been the gardeners. They have watered us and believed in us. They made sure we had what we needed to grow.”
Atlantic Cape CSS staff members announced the staff and student award winners in the following categories:
Staff Awards
Paula Stewart Davis Awards:
Faculty: Michael Sargente, assistant director, Academic Support Services/Library and Tutoring
Staff: Leanna LaValle, student services associate, One–Stop Enrollment & Recruitment
The award is named after Paula Stewart Davis, a former Atlantic Cape retired Dean of Student Affairs and Enrollment Management.
Student Awards
Outstanding Achiever Award:
Alexander Barr, Tyler Juzwiak, Morgan Kenny, Hannah Vaught-Crumbock, Ammarah Muhammad and Gavin Richards
Director's Award:
Destiny Broughton, Katherine Davis, Kaylee Graziano-Goodman, Jake Harris, Sophia Lorenzi and Taherrah McQueen
Juan Alvarez Award:
Isaiah Padilla
Counselor's Award
Cameron Gerner, Leon Kerrison, Ian Palzer and Corey Thomas
The CSS program offers a variety of services that include, but are not limited to, counseling, academic advisement, monitoring of academic progress, leadership development, mentoring, assistance with transfer process and cultural activities.
Such academic support programs that are available to help eligible students attain their academic goals include the Educational Opportunity Fund Program (EOF), Student Support Services (SSS), New Jersey STARS (NJSTARS), Center for Accessibility (CFA) and Men of Atlantic Cape (MAC).
Learn more about the Center for Student Success at atlantic.edu/student-life/student-resources/counseling/index.php.
View a photo gallery from this event on Flickr here.
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About Atlantic Cape Community College
Established in 1964, Atlantic Cape Community College is a Middle States-accredited, Hispanic-serving institution proudly serving the residents of Atlantic and Cape May counties. As a comprehensive, two-year community college, Atlantic Cape offers more than 50 undergraduate degree programs and 34 certificate and workforce development professional series programs at its Mays Landing, Atlantic City, and Cape May campuses. Atlantic Cape is home to the renowned Academy of Culinary Arts, rated the top culinary school in New Jersey, and to its highly acclaimed Nursing program for more than 60 years. Atlantic Cape also partners with more than 30 colleges and four-year universities to offer students the opportunity to seamlessly earn a bachelor’s degree upon graduation.
