By RAYGAN LOPEZ
Page Editor
Amarillo College officials have chosen two students to speak at the 2021 commencement ceremonies on May 14 at the Hodgetown Stadium.
“We want the ceremony to be about students,” Bob Austin, the vice president of enrollment management, said. “We want students to know how much we appreciate them. And that’s why we try to choose one of their peers to deliver the commencement address,” Austin said.
Brittani McGhee, an associate degree nursing major will speak at the health services, industry and public service graduation ceremony at 3 p.m.
“I’m a get-it-done type of person. Do what you have to do however you have to do it,” McGhee said. “I like to think of myself as somebody who is extremely determined. I’m very ambitious. I might have experienced some stuff but I’m not going to let that stop me. I keep going,” she said.
Although McGhee has faced many challenges she maintained her faith and pushed through her struggles.
“Sometimes it’s timing. I feel like God gave me another assignment. I may have wanted to do it at a particular time but at the time my assignment was school or taking care of my family or whatever I had to do,” McGhee said.
When McGhee received the confirmation call to give the commencement speech she said she was a little overwhelmed but also teary-eyed. “People always say that I speak well and communicate well but I had never been selected on such a magnitude before,” she said.
Garrett Miller, a business administration major, will speak at the business, CIS, creative arts, education, liberal arts, STEM and general studies ceremony at 7 p.m.
“My first reaction was a little bit nervous but I was very excited of course. But I love getting in front of people and being in that position,” Miller said.
Miller spent his time at AC as a Presidential Scholar, an officer of the Student Government Association and the founder and president of AC’s Rotaract club. He describes himself as a community servant.
“I hope my peers see me as a friend and hopefully as a leader,” Miller said. “I’ve always learned and grown up to provide myself as a servant leader. So I hope that they see me as such,” he said.
Both speakers said they plan to give speeches that emphasize the adversities everyone has faced during the past year, and that the difficulties were surpassed.
“It’s not over yet. These next years in our lives will bring about their struggles and that is where success is derived through,” Miller said. “And from that comes wisdom. We begin to build ourselves much stronger than we could ever imagine.”
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