TC Commencement 2013: Afternoon Master's Ceremony
At the afternoon ceremony, attended by graduates of TC's Departments of Health & Behavior Studies, Human Development, International & Transcultural Studies, Mathematics, Science & Technology, and Organization & Leadership, TC President Susan Fuhrman paid tribute to students Benjamin Pass, who received his master's degree from TC's unique program in Science and Dental Medicine Education, and Cyndi Bendezú-Palomino, who received her masters in Higher and Postsecondary Education.
Pass is a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy with eight years of military service ahead of him. He hopes to practice general dentistry for a year, with a focus on special-needs and poor and minority patients, and then teach dentistry to individuals who share his desire to help under-served communities.
Bendezú-Palomino, a native of Peru who recently became a permanent U.S. resident, is a strong advocate for passage of the Dream Act, which would grant a permanent path to citizenship to many undocumented immigrants who have graduated from U.S. schools.
Pulitzer-prize winning author and New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman received the College’s Medal for Distinguished Service at the afternoon ceremony. Friedman reminded graduates that they will have to invent and reinvent their jobs in “a hyper-connected world.”
Student speaker Joyce Rafla, a graduate of the program in Cognitive Studies in Education in TC’s Department of Human Development, reflected on how TC helped her achieve goals that as a woman coming from the Middle East she previously felt were beyond her reach.
Published Wednesday, May. 22, 2013