“Go confidently in your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.” With those words, first spoken by Henry David Thoreau, Niagara College Dan Patterson gave his final words of advice to Niagara College graduates.

The two Fall 2019 Convocation ceremonies at the Welland Campus added nearly 1,300 new graduates to the class of 2019, and marked Patterson’s final convocation ceremonies as he prepares to step down as president of Niagara College. Over his 25 years at the college, Patterson has presided over 171 convocation ceremonies, and has shaken the hands of 71,058 proud Niagara College graduates as they crossed the convocation stage to receive their diplomas and degrees.

Niagara College President Dan Patterson shakes the hand of Electrician- Construction and Maintenance graduate Gregory Lundy, the last graduate to cross the stage at Patterson’s final convocation ceremony.

“I’m very proud to have been at the helm of one of the best educational institutions in the country for so many years,” said Patterson. “Convocation in particular has always been one of the highlights of my time here, and congratulating those seventy thousand graduates as they cross the stage has truly been one of the most rewarding experiences of my career.”

The morning ceremony celebrated approximately 600 new graduates from the School of Allied Health, School of Justice and Fitness, and School of Nursing and Personal Support Worker Studies. Ann Buller, past-president of Centennial College, delivered a rousing convocation address to the graduates, and was awarded an Honorary Bachelor of Applied Studies in recognition of her leadership in postsecondary education.

Niagara College president Dan Patterson presents Ann Buller, past-president of Centennial College, with an Honorary Bachelor of Applied Studies at the morning ceremony of Niagara College’s Fall 2019 Convocation. Buller also delivered the morning’s convocation address

In her address, Buller urged the new grads to use their Niagara College education to “better not only your own lives, but the lives of others.” She also touched on the unique contributions that college graduates can make toward a better world. “We college graduates are, by the nature of our learning and the attributes of our character, a collective driven to action,” she said. “The world needs powerful voices, with profound and practical solutions, and you can be that.”

The afternoon ceremony recognized approximately 700 new graduates from the School of Business and Management; School of Environment and Horticulture; School of Hospitality, Tourism and Sport; the Canadian Food and Wine Institute; School of Academic, Liberal and Access Studies; School of Technology; and School of Trades.

The ceremony also celebrated two prominent members of the Niagara community. Niagara business leader Vince DiCosimo, founder of Hospitality Fallsview Holdings (Hilton Niagara Falls Fallsview Hotel, and Days Inn Fallsview Niagara Falls) was recognized with an Honorary Diploma in Hospitality and Tourism Studies for his leadership in Niagara’s hospitality and tourism sectors.

Niagara College President presents Vince DiCosimo, founder of Hospitality Fallsview Holdings, with an Honorary Diploma in Hospitality and Tourism Studies for his leadership in Niagara’s hospitality and tourism sectors at the afternoon ceremony of NC’s Fall 2019 Convocation

Shane Malcolm, executive director of Leadership Niagara, received a Distinguished Alumni Award. Malcolm, who graduated from NC’s Culinary Management (Co-op) program in 2011, and Bachelor of Applied Business Hospitality Operations Management program in 2014, is a former president of the Niagara College Student Administrative Council (2014-2016) and was the College’s first international student to hold the position.

Malcolm also delivered the afternoon’s convocation address. He urged the graduates to look for the “evidences of success” in their lives – not least among them being their successful completion of their Niagara College education. “You are sitting in one of those very same moments. This is one of your many evidences of success.”

Malcolm, who came to Niagara College from his hometown in Montego Bay Jamaica, also used his own unexpected career progression – from an ambitious culinary student to executive director of a non-profit leadership development organization – to encourage graduates to embrace their own unexpected journeys toward success. “What success looks like is never as linear as we think it needs to be,” he said. “Success is not a destination; it’s a journey.”

“There is no greater force than the success you’re feeling right now,” he said.

Shane Malcolm, executive director of Leadership Niagara, delivered the convocation address at the afternoon ceremony of NC’s Fall 2019 Convocation. Malcolm was also the recipient of Niagara College’s Distinguished Alumni Award.

Niagara College offers more than 130 diploma, bachelor degree and advanced level programs as well as more than 600 credit, vocational and general interest Part-Time Studies courses. Areas of specialization include food and wine sciences, advanced technology, media, applied health and community safety, supported by unique learning enterprises in food, wine, beer, spirits, horticulture and esthetics. For more information visit niagaracollege.ca.

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Michael Wales
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