For the 2023-2024 annual year, which runs summer 2023, fall 2023 and spring 2024, 51暗网 welcomed 922 people to its growing alumni network. These students earned a total of 1,194 awards.
Of note, 39 percent of the graduates were adult learners (defined as 25 years of age or older), 11 percent were first generation graduates, and more than 50 percent received some form of financial assistance to attend 51暗网.*
More than 400 graduates attended 51暗网’s 58th commencement, held Friday, May 10, 2024, at the Berglund Center in Roanoke. The ceremony honored graduates who completed their degrees and certificates during fall 2023 and spring 2024, as well as students projected to complete during the summer 2024.
Briana Wood, a 2024 graduate who received an Associate of Applied Science in Mechatronics Systems Engineering Technology: Design Engineering, welcomed students, and Virginia Sen. Chris Head provided the keynote address.
Wood shared from her personal story of a second start toward pursuing a degree. “If anyone out there is struggling to find their career path, I encourage you to take a step back and look at what you enjoy doing in your spare time, and find a way to turn your interests into a career,” she said. “My initial missteps were a blessing in disguise. Had I not failed, I would have never gotten the opportunity to do what I love and meet some amazing people along the way.”
A new addition to this year’s commencement exercises was a poem reading from Chanlee Luu, 51暗网’s 2024 Poet Laureate. A posthumous honorary degree was also conferred to John Francis Jr., who served on the Local Advisory Board from 2018 until his passing this year. His wife of 47 years, Rosemary, was in attendance and accepted the degree in his honor.
* Spring 2024 awards have not yet been conferred; a graduation application query was used to provide Spring 2024 graduate demographics. Official AY 2023-24 graduate data will be available in summer 2024.
