Bergen Community College: Bergen Recognizes Resilient Class Of 2021

Press release from the Bergen Community College:

April 20, 2021

“Commencement marks the most important day of the academic year, providing an opportunity for the College to recognize our graduates’ success,” President Friedman said. “While this always represents a special occasion, it’s particularly exciting for the class of 2021 due to the extraordinary circumstances they’ve overcome during the past two years to reach this day.”

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many students graduating as part of the class of 2021 have not taken an in-person class since March of last year when the College pivoted to remote operations. Others, specifically those in health professions programs, followed a comprehensive set of health and safety protocols (such as wearing masks, submitting to daily thermal temperature screenings and practicing physical distancing) to complete on-campus coursework mandated by accrediting agencies.

Additionally, and for the second consecutive year, the pandemic forced the institution to forgo its traditional commencement celebration, which had taken place at MetLife Stadium since 2016. This year’s virtual event will feature the same trappings of a traditional in-person commencement exercise, including remarks from government officials, the reading of graduates’ names and plenty of pomp and circumstance. The online format will also offer certain advantages such as providing family and friends from around the world the opportunity to participate in real-time via social media. Adding a personal touch, graduating students have submitted photos and messages to include as part of the ceremony as well.

As the top student in the graduating class, valedictorian Crystal Yoo, of Hackensack, will deliver remarks. Class of 2021 graduates Genesis Capellan, of Englewood, will sing the National Anthem and Student Government Association President Laila Metwaly, of Fairview, will close the ceremony by leading her peers in turning their tassels.

The class of 2021 features high school students from Cliffside Park, Garfield, North Arlington and eight others earning degrees as part of the College’s early college program, members of the Turning Point Program for students with intellectual disabilities and members of the College’s world-renowned Alpha Epsilon Phi chapter of Phi Theta Kappa, the honor society of two-year colleges.

Based in Paramus, Bergen Community College (www.bergen.edu), a public two-year coeducational college, enrolls more than 13,000 students at locations in Paramus, the Philip Ciarco Jr. Learning Center in Hackensack and Bergen Community College at the Meadowlands in Lyndhurst. The College offers associate degree, certificate and continuing education programs in a variety of fields. More students graduate from Bergen than any other community college in the state.

This press release was produced by the Bergen Community College. The views expressed here are the author’s own.