The Honors Convocation Ceremony, held on Wednesday, May 14, celebrated the accomplishments of the top students and athletes at Vaughn. Students, family and friends gathered with staff, faculty and board members to share in the celebration.

Dean of Academic Affairs Dr. Paul LaVergne welcomed the crowd and introduced the department chairs and staff representatives as they presented the awards. President Dr. John C. Fitzpatrick and Senior Vice President Dr. Sharon B. DeVivo were in attendance to show their support of the students and note their worthy achievements.

The ceremony included an address from guest speaker Richard A. Asper, JD, the founder of Aviation Professionals Group, Inc., who reflected on his first visit to the College where he met Casey S. Jones, one of the College’s founders, and honored the accomplishments of the students at the ceremony. Asper discussed the variety of opportunities awaiting them and spoke from experience about taking risks in order to succeed. He summed up his speech by noting that “every take off is optional, but every landing is mandatory.”

Wajahat Khan ’14, who is receiving his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering technology on Saturday, gave the student address and will serve as commencement speaker. Khan talked about his good fortune in coming to the US as a teenager and the opportunities it afforded him. He thanked his family for encouraging him along the way as well as the faculty and staff at Vaughn who helped him to achieve his dream.  He reflected on the accomplishments of the class of 2014 and hoped that all would go forward to “touch the lives of others, no matter where we go.” He ended by quoting a favorite Greek philosopher who noted that “the greater the difficulty, the more profound the accomplishments.”

Click here to see the list of honorees.

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Board of Trustee member Joseph Werner ’57 and Dr. Fitzpatrick present the Board of Trustees award to Wajahat Khan.

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Convocation speaker Rick Asper addresses the crowd.