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Home News Campus SLCC commencement highlights graduates who overcame challenges of 2020
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SLCC commencement highlights graduates who overcame challenges of 2020

By
Morgan Workman
-
August 13, 2021
0
Graduate shakes hands with college president
Salt Lake Community College graduate Amanda Ashby, left, shakes hands with President Deneece Huftalin during the 2021 commencement ceremony at the Maverik Center on Aug. 6. Ashby said she chose to wear a mask because she and her son are immunocompromised. (Tamra Rachol)

Salt Lake Community College President Deneece Huftalin, along with other speakers, congratulated the 2021 graduating class for completing their degree despite the pandemic.

On Friday, Aug. 6, the 2021 SLCC graduates walked across the stage to accept their diplomas.

“I feel overwhelmed for sure. I didn’t think I would ever graduate, and I’m incredibly proud of myself. I’m going to graduate with a 3.89 GPA,” Heather Maggio, a graduate of social work, reflected.

These alumni have much to be proud of, as most of the speakers noted.

“Community is not an abstract idea at our college,” President Huftalin remarked at the beginning of the ceremony. “It’s woven into the culture.”

Huftalin noted this was evidenced by the more than 3,600 students who attended the in-person commencement ceremony despite a pandemic, earthquake, and campus fire occurring in the past year and a half.

After Huftalin’s speech, the crowd heard a few words from the 2020-21 SLCC Student Association President, Emily Hernandez Alzamora.

“Do not wait for someone else to make the changes: make the change,” Alzamora said. “The world is changing, and we need to change with it. We are the class of possibilities.”

Her words echoed the Respectus Quote that Huftalin chose for the 2020-21 school year, taken from the late U.S. Congressman John Lewis: “You must be bold, brave and courageous and find a way to get in the way.”

Timothy S. Huval, an SLCC alumnus and the chief administrative officer of Humana, was the keynote speaker of the evening. He shared his heartbreaking experience of coming back to life from several debilitating illnesses that the medical community still does not fully understand. The essence of his story can be summarized with one word: Chances.

“When I was sitting there [in the hospital] paralyzed, I was just thinking about chances,” Huval recalled. “My chances were taken away, and I just wanted them back.”

All of Huval’s remarks fit the theme of the night to inspire the recent graduates to not be afraid to go out into the world and make a difference.

“Do not take life’s chances for granted; good or bad,” Huval said. His two biggest pieces of advice to the room: First, to be present in the moment with everyone, and second, to find a way to make a difference in someone’s life every day.

To illustrate the benefits of living in the moment with everyone, he invited the audience to see every situation from the other point of view.

“Every single person is going through something, and that ‘something’ is the most important thing in the world for them at that moment in time,” Huval advised.

Although Huval has a net worth of about $20 million, he said a career should not define who a person is or what their quality of life is.

“Define yourself by the differences you’ve made,” Huval said. “What differences can we make during this lifetime? Please don’t take one second for granted.”

Huval ended with a phrase that everyone who attended must have been thinking at that moment. “You should all be very proud.”

Salt Lake Community College 2021 commencement ceremony - Aug. 6, 2021
1 of 22
Marcie Young Cancio and Matt Merkel pose for a photo
Salt Lake Community College faculty, including professors Marcie Young Cancio and Matt Merkel, right, line up in anticipation of the graduates' arrival for the 2021 commencement ceremony at the Maverik Center on Aug. 6. (Tamra Rachol)
Brett Baird holds a ceremonial mace
Salt Lake Community College professor Brett Baird serves as the grand marshal for the 2021 commencement ceremony at the Maverik Center on Aug. 6. (Tamra Rachol)
Graduates walk past faculty members
Salt Lake Community College faculty members applaud as graduates enter the Maverik Center arena during the 2021 commencement ceremony on Aug. 6. (Tamra Rachol)
Brett Baird walking ahead of graduates
Salt Lake Community College professor Brett Baird, left, leads the Graduates of Excellence to the stage during the 2021 commencement ceremony at the Maverik Center on Aug. 6. (Tamra Rachol)
Amie Schaeffer holds a banner
Salt Lake Community College Graduate of Excellence Amie Schaeffer proudly enters the arena representing the School of Arts, Communication and Media during the 2021 commencement ceremony on Aug. 6. (Tamra Rachol)
Graduates of Excellence carrying banners
Salt Lake Community College graduate Brock Smith, front, smiles as the Graduates of Excellence walk to the stage during the 2021 commencement ceremony on Aug. 6. (Tamra Rachol)
Four SLCC graduates smile for a photo
Salt Lake Community College graduates Autumn Holden, right, Tirza Javaid, Julie Tu and Jennifer Chapman eagerly wait to receive their diplomas during the 2021 commencement ceremony at the Maverik Center on Aug. 6. (Tamra Rachol)
SLCC dance company performs
The Salt Lake Community College Dance Company kicks off the 2021 commencement ceremony at the Maverik Center on Aug. 6. (Tamra Rachol)
National Guard walks past SLCC graduates
The Utah National Guard conducts the "Presentation of Colors" during Salt Lake Community College's 2021 commencement ceremony inside the Maverik Center on Aug. 6. (Tamra Rachol)
Lindsay Simons at the podium
Lindsay Simons, current president of Salt Lake Community College Student Association and the Graduate of Excellence for General Studies, provides some comic relief during the opening of the 2021 commencement ceremony at the Maverik Center on Aug. 6. (Tamra Rachol)
Deneece Huftalin at the podium
Salt Lake Community College President Deneece Huftalin addresses the graduating class during the 2021 commencement ceremony at the Maverik Center on Aug. 6. (Tamra Rachol)
SLCC administrators listen to President Huftalin speak
Salt Lake Community College administrators, including President Deneece Huftalin, at podium, opted to wear masks and social distance as much as possible during the 2021 commencement ceremony at the Maverik Center on Aug. 6. (Tamra Rachol)
Maria Farrington, left, honors Terry L. Grant
Salt Lake Community College Board of Trustees member Maria Farrington, at podium, presents Terry L. Grant with an honorary doctorate degree during the 2021 commencement ceremony at the Maverik Center on Aug. 6. (Tamra Rachol)
The Taylors receive doctorate at the podium
Edna and Jerald M. Taylor, right, receive an honorary doctorate degree during Salt Lake Community College's 2021 commencement ceremony at the Maverik Center on Aug. 6. (Tamra Rachol)
Row of graduating students smiling
Salt Lake Community College's Graduates of Excellence smile after receiving their degrees during the 2021 commencement ceremony at the Maverik Center on Aug. 6. (Tamra Rachol)
Emily Ann Hernandez Alzamora at the podium
Former Salt Lake Community College Student Association President Emily Ann Hernandez Alzamora gives a heartfelt speech to her fellow graduates during the 2021 commencement ceremony at the Maverik Center on Aug. 6. (Tamra Rachol)
Timothy Huval speaking
Salt Lake Community College alumnus and Humana chief administrative officer Timothy S. Huval gives a keynote address at the 2021 commencement ceremony on Aug. 6. (Tamra Rachol)
Clifton Sanders at the podium
Clifton Sanders, the Provost for Academic Affairs at Salt Lake Community College, conducts the "Presentation of Graduates" during the 2021 commencement ceremony at the Maverik Center on Aug. 6. (Tamra Rachol)
SLCC graduates smile for a picture
Salt Lake Community College's Graduates of Excellence smile after receiving their degrees during the 2021 commencement ceremony at the Maverik Center on Aug. 6. (Tamra Rachol)
Commencement volunteer assists graduates
A volunteer helps guide Salt Lake Community College graduates onstage to receive their diplomas during the 2021 commencement ceremony at the Maverik Center on Aug. 6. (Tamra Rachol)
Volunteers offer hand sanitizer to graduate
Volunteers Alisi Niupalau and Adrienne Howell, right, offer hand sanitizer to graduates after they receive their diploma during Salt Lake Community College's 2021 commencement ceremony at the Maverik Center on Aug. 6. (Tamra Rachol)
Graduate shakes hands with college president
Salt Lake Community College graduate Amanda Ashby, left, shakes hands with President Deneece Huftalin during the 2021 commencement ceremony at the Maverik Center on Aug. 6. Ashby said she chose to wear a mask because she and her son are immunocompromised. (Tamra Rachol)
  • TAGS
  • Class of 2021
  • commencement
  • Deneece Huftalin
  • Emily Hernandez Alzamora
  • Heather Maggio
  • Maverik Center
  • photo gallery
  • Salt Lake Community College
  • Tim Huval
Morgan Workman

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