The Northern Pennsylvania Regional College (NPRC) held their Celebration of Degree Completion of the Educational Consortium of the Upper Allegheny (ECUA), NPRC, and Gannon partnership on Saturday, January 18, 2020. NPRC celebrated students from Meadville, St. Marys, and Youngsville who completed their Associate degrees in 2019.
Joining the students, families, friends, faculty, staff, and board members of ECUA and NPRC, were Senator Scott Hutchinson and Representative Kathy Rapp. Senator Hutchinson and Representative Rapp both complimented the work of the visionaries and doers that made the College what it is today. Remarks were made by several speakers, but two themes were common – the value of NPRC to our communities and the importance of continuing to serve the underserved.
The NPRC Board of Trustees Secretary, Mr. Hank LeMeur, shared that, “We do this, we serve, to have more degree holders in our communities.” Dr. Joseph T. Nairn, NPRC Founding President, addressed the completers and called them, “Trailblazers, pioneers, and our partners in success.” He continued to state that the success of those who completed their Associate degrees “is a great source of pride and, individually and collectively, what NPRC was established for.”
As the final Celebration of Degree Completion, the ECUA Board of Trustees were recognized with a Founders Award. This award was given to honor the men and women who blazed the path for NPRC to not only exist, but to thrive in northern Pennsylvania.
The celebration concluded with a powerful remark from one of the students who completed their Associate degree. “I didn’t initially intend on earning a degree when I started to take classes in the Spring of 2017… Some of the instructors taught me more than just the course work.” He has plans to move onto Waynesburg University in the fall to complete a bachelor’s degree.
The Northern Pennsylvania Regional College is authorized by the PA Department of Education to award Associate degrees and certificates in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and is pursuing regional accreditation. Now that the NPRC is operating independently, students will be recognized at commencement ceremonies where they will be awarded NPRC degrees.