Vaughn College Celebrates Student Achievements at its Annual Convocation Ceremony

James Hendon, Commissioner of the New York City Department of Veterans Services, Delivers Convocation Address

FLUSHING, N.Y., May 23, 2022 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- On Wednesday, May 11, Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology honored the student achievements of the Class of 2022 at its annual convocation ceremony. James Hendon, commissioner of the New York City Department of Veterans Services, delivered the convocation address to students. Hendon's powerful speech about achieving success and lifetime fulfillment noted, "Live your life to the fullest and do everything you can. Don't be afraid of your destiny and who you are as a person and continue to feed your mind with wisdom, knowledge, experience and relationships with others."

Hendon spent seven years in the US army as an active infantry officer serving in Afghanistan, eventually becoming senior adviser to the Afghan Border Police from 2007 to 2009. After leaving the army, Hendon has been involved in a variety of roles including being the mayoral appointee on the eleven-member New York City Veterans Advisory Board and the director of the New York University Veterans Future Lab. Hendon is a 2002 graduate of West Point, a 2012 graduate of Harvard Kennedy School and Columbia Business School and a 2015 graduate of the Earth Institute's Conservation and Environmental Sustainability program.

During convocation, Vaughn College faculty distributed departmental awards to students who excelled in their majors earning a grade point average of 3.50 and above, and to those who showed exceptional leadership and service to the institution throughout their time at Vaughn. Alexa Rae Cruz '22, aeronautical sciences major, was the student speaker and recipient of the Bessie Coleman Award. The Bessie Coleman Award is presented to the student with the highest cumulative grade point average who demonstrates the professional and civic values that exemplify the mission of the College. Cruz delivered a speech focused on reaching your goals, overcoming obstacles and achieving success as women in the male-dominated field of aviation.

Vaughn College serves many first-generation Americans and first-generation college students and seeks to provide an engaging educational experience for every student as well as creating a lifetime of opportunity for all.

VAUGHN COLLEGE: Founded in 1932, Vaughn College is a private, nonprofit four-year college that enrolls more than 1,400 students in master's, bachelor's and associate degree programs in engineering, technology, management and aviation on its main campus in New York City and online. The student-faculty ratio of 14 to 1 ensures a highly personalized learning environment. Eighty-eight percent of Vaughn College graduates are placed in professional positions, 75 percent in a related field, or choose to continue their education within one year of graduation. In recent years, outside of the pandemic, Vaughn's outcomes for students typically average more than 95 percent and have been 99 percent, 98 percent and 97 percent for the three years prior. The institution is recognized by the US Department of Education as a Hispanic-Serving Institution. In a study conducted by The Equality of Opportunity Project, and reported in The New York Times, Vaughn was ranked number one in upward mobility nationwide. For more information on Vaughn College, please visit  http://www.vaughn.edu.

Media Contact

Francesca Marricco, Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology - Flushing, NY, 7184296600, [email protected]

SOURCE Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology - Flushing, NY