Nicole Polera, right, a health science graduate, smiles after her daughter Rosalie Vassar gives her flowers during North Country Community College’s commencement Saturday, May 20. (News photo — Lauren Yates)

SARANAC LAKE — Hundreds of people filled North Country Community College’s Sparks Athletic Complex on Saturday, May 20 with cheers, spring flowers and joyful tears on Saturday as the college recognized 210 graduates from its class of 2023.

Commencement speakers described a graduating class filled with resilient, hardworking people. In a speech to her fellow graduates, Sydney VanNest — a Radiologic Technology graduate who received the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Student Excellence — spoke of a college experience filled with peaks and valleys, from the coronavirus pandemic-related shift to virtual classes and mask-wearing to picking up new sports and making new friends. Though VanNest said she entered college with a deep fear of failure, she found that life is filled with both successes and failures. It’s OK to fail, she said — failure taught her how to be resilient and work hard when things get tough.

“We didn’t let failure stop us,” she said. “… How you respond determines your success.”

Allison Warner, an NCCC math professor and NCCC senate chair, advised students to get involved in their communities and workplaces as they move on to new careers. Quoting words from the children’s book and television series, “Winnie the Pooh,” Warner encouraged graduates to face their challenges and reach for their goals with confidence.

“‘You’re braver than you believe, you’re stronger than you seem and you’re smarter than you think,'” she said.

Assemblyman Billy Jones, D-Chateauguay Lake, gives North Country Community College’s commencement speech Saturday, May 20 at the Sparks Athletic Complex. (News photo — Lauren Yates)

State Assemblyman Billy Jones, D-Chateaugay Lake, who gave this year’s NCCC commencement speech, asked the Class of 2023 to fully recognize their accomplishment of attending school and graduating through a pandemic. He credited their support systems — their family, friends and significant others — as crucial to the graduates’ success. Surrounding the graduates were tearful parents snapping photos, smiling partners with babies on their hips and sons cheering on their graduating mothers with palpable pride.

“Everyone who supported you on this journey, they believed in you,” Jones said. “They pushed you, and during the times you thought you would fail, they reassured you.”

Jones said he didn’t take the traditional path to becoming an assemblyman. He managed his family’s dairy farm and worked as a corrections officer before becoming an elected official, and he didn’t attend college. He told graduates, no matter how “traditional” of a path they’ve taken, to keep working tirelessly to achieve their goals. He also encouraged graduates to step away from social media and get involved in their communities, to get back in touch with people face-to-face — a needed change in this “divided world,” he said.

In addition to VanNest’s Chancellor’s Award for Student Excellence, NCCC President Joseph Keegan gave out a few chancellor’s awards for faculty and staff who demonstrated excellence in the 2022-23 school year. Dr. Kimberly Duffey, an associate professor of business at NCCC, received the chancellor’s award for excellence in teaching. Dr. Kelli Rodriguez, a social science professor at NCCC, was recognized for excellence in scholarship and creative activities; adjunct Professor Margaret Campion received the chancellor’s award for excellence in adjunct teaching; and Sarah Kilby was recognized for excellence in professional service.

Students who graduated with honors include Kwame Dottin, Jacklyn Santamore, Jacquelynn Bishop, Chloe Flannaghan, Cassidy Rushby, Alyssa Summo, Anna Taylor, Gwendalyn Mader, Sophia Zelinski, Nathan Cheney, Emily Bliss, Kenneth Supernault, Adela Cecunjanin, Breigh Nelson, Ashley Dushane, Cameron Tracy, Samantha Turcotte, Barbra Arquette, Yvette Gillmett, Hayley Irish, Julianna Gordon, Dylan Urquhart, Hailey Arquiett, Matthew Oakes, Samantha Crossman, Margaret Marceau, Gracie O’Hare, Justin Champion, Kayla Smith, Samantha Stevens, Brooke Vanier, Joshua Amell, Jessica Colwell, Angela Paduano, Inez Burkard, Randi Welch, Payton Roy and Sydney VanNest.

Kimberly Duffey, an associate professor of business at North Country Community College, received the SUNY chancellor’s award for excellence in teaching during commencement on Saturday, May 20. (News photo — Lauren Yates)