CTC confers more than 320 degrees in spring commencement

BY thaDDeuS imerman KILLEEn DAILy HERALD

BELTON — Nearly half of the graduates during the Central Texas College commencement ceremony May 12 walked the stage again this week as graduates of Early College High School.

The 180 such students not only received their high school diploma in a ceremony on May 24; they received their associate degrees May 12 at the Bell County Expo Center in Belton.

Two of the dual graduates did so with the highest honors, meaning they each completed their degrees with a perfect 4.0 grade-point average.

“It’s really satisfying,” said Madison Nichols, one of the young scholars. “I’ve been working hard for four years now. So being able to actually achieve it and be here in the cap and gown is really exciting.”

Nichols received her associate degree in interdisciplinary studies with a focus on biology. She said she plans to go to college to do biochemistry with a goal of becoming an emergency room doctor.

Vincent Xiao also achieved the same 4.0 mark as Nichols, a distinction he said he is grateful for.

“I feel very grateful for this opportunity,” he said. “It’s not very common for people to graduate with both an associate’s degree and a high school diploma.”

Xiao said he followed his brother’s footsteps by going to CTC.

Xiao’s associate degree is in general studies. The 17-year- old said he has already been accepted to the University of Texas at Austin to begin studying computer science in the fall.

Also graduating Friday from CTC were married couple Susan Schenck and Tony Schenck.

The two nontraditional students may not have had the honor of walking in the same ceremony were it not for Susan’s persistence.

Susan finished her degree in 2020 during the height of the coronavirus pandemic, so she never went through an actual graduation ceremony. After speaking with the graduation department, college officials said she was eligible to walk in a ceremony and told her she could in December 2022.

“(Tony) had already been accepted and I knew he was going to graduate in May, and I said, ‘Absolutely not. I want to walk in May,’” Susan Schenck said.

For Susan, 53, and Tony, 49, their children took precedence in their academic careers over their own.

“When our daughter graduated high school, I went back to school,” Susan said. “Because I had to work 120 hours versus an LPN to make what I make as an RN on a regular week. I couldn’t deny my kids for me to go to school. So she graduated in June (2018) and in August, I was in the program.”

Both Schencks completed their associate degrees in applied science nursing. Since completing her degree in 2020, Susan has worked at Baylor Scott & White Medical Center in Temple.

Friday’s graduation, while known as the beginning for the graduates, was the end of an era of sorts, with Chancellor Jim Yeonopolus presiding over his final graduation. After a 50-year career, he will retire in August.

“I’ve attended every graduation since 1973 — to include the ones I did overseas and other installations in the United States,” Yeonopolus said before the ceremony.

Though it was his final graduation, Yeonopolus said it is not necessarily bittersweet.

“I’m looking forward to this,” he said. “I’m looking forward to retirement. After 50 years, you kind of know when it is — and (the college is) in good hands.”

The guest speaker for the graduation was retired Command Sgt. Maj. Edgar Fuentes, who was appointed in January 2022 as one of the civilian aides to the Secretary of the Army.