In its first outdoor ceremony, North Shore Community College (NSCC) celebrated the graduation of over 500 students across two ceremonies.
Michael McHugh with The Salem News reports:
One of those graduates, Andres Cuellar Herrera, spoke to the winding path he took to graduation, moving from Columbia three years ago with plans to work for a few months, save enough money to pay for tuition back home, and then return, but soon had to adjust with a new plan.
“With high tuition costs, inaccessibility to aid because of my status, a lack of information, and the extremely complicated college system of the U.S., I lost all hopes of going to college,” Herrera said. “But in the middle of all that noise, I found the North Shore. I was full of doubts, but everything and everyone at North Shore Community College only gave me confidence.”