‘Be a life-long learner’ Three Rivers grads praised for perseverance

Jeff Craddoc walked away Friday with his third associate degree from Three Rivers Community College since 2000.

“My dad taught me, ‘the day you stop learning, you might as well die,’” Craddoc, of Waterford, said during the school’s 23rd commencement Friday at its Norwich campus.

At 54 and fighting cancer, Craddoc was forced to retire three years ago but has found academia to be a source of nourishment.

“Education is a nice way for me to keep sharp and focused,” Craddoc said. “I challenge the person who says to me, ‘oh, it’s only an associate degree.’”

Craddoc was among the 291 members of the class of 2015 who took part in a two-hour long graduation ceremony that honored more than 600 students in total.

They all secured what psychology professor Dov Kugelmass called a “hard won education” that would position Three Rivers’ latest alumni to thrive in the next stage of their lives.

“We know it takes personal commitment and grit to continue your studies,” he said.

School officials shifted Friday’s commencement back onto campus after it was held for several years at The Garde Arts Center in New London.

The ceremony contained many familiar elements of years past – bedazzled mortarboards with personal messages, balloons and placards emblazoned with names of students and plenty of family picture time.

But there were also firsts: Friday was the inaugural commencement for school president Mary Ellen Jukoski, and it was 50th anniversary of the class of 1965 that graduated from Thames Valley State Technical College, which merged with Mohegan Community College in 1992 to create Three Rivers.

“To the graduates, this is your day to celebrate your commitment to learning, the effort and dedication you invested to pursue your education, along with your perseverance to make this day possible,” Jukoski said. “Graduates, I hope that Three Rivers has been a place that ignited the spark of learning that will cause you to be a life-long learner.”

Among those who walked across the stage Friday was Julia Cullers, of North Stonington, who is the first graduate from Three Rivers Middle College to attend a higher education institution.

Thanks to a member of the 1965 class, a graduating student from Griswold High School entering into STEM field at Three Rivers will be eligible for financial aid through the newly established Luke J. Malek Memorial Scholarship, set up by his brother, Paul and Paul’s wife, Donna, in Luke’s memory.

The Maleks attended Griswold High, and Luke was killed soon after graduating in 1974.

“This would have been an ideal location for him, if he ever had the chance,” Paul said.

U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., attended his second commencement in Eastern Connecticut in two days. On Thursday, he was at Quinebaug Valley Community in Danielson and took part Friday to congratulate Three Rivers’ graduates.

“I know that for many of you, these past two or four years have been far from a giddy, easy glide path. They’ve been filled with hard work, juggling children or holding jobs or caring for family,” he said. “That is also the nature of a community college education.”In his remarks, he also supported President Barack Obama’s proposal for free access to community colleges.

“Thank you for using this great platform as a beachhead, a landing zone, for additional pursuits in education and careers,” he said.

Mary Pollard, of Norwich, received a graphic and communication arts certificate on Friday, and will remain at Three Rivers to pursue a graphic fine arts degree.

“Everybody you see here has a story. I’m so proud of so many of my friends. It’s really cool to see everyone who has worked so hard and gone through so much,” she said.

Popular accounting professor Edward Muenzer was selected by his peers to deliver Friday’s commencement address, and former Three Rivers Community College Foundation Board president Jeffrey Godley received an honorary degree.