230 Flint Hills technical College students were recognized for receiving their degrees during the college’s spring commencement ceremony Sunday.
Though held indoors, the celebration did have to hit pause briefly due to severe weather triggering tornado sirens in Emporia around 2:40 pm. However; the brief delay did not dampen the spirits of students or families in attendance.
Despite the slight delay due to the weather, College President Dr. Dean Hollenbeck says the entire college community was grateful and excited for the ceremony. Hollenbeck admitted it was somewhat bittersweet as this will be his family commencement ceremony as the head of the college as he is set to retire next month.
Nonetheless, Hollenbeck says this has been a great year for FHTC and he can’t wait to see what is still to come in the future.
Of the 230 spring graduates, Hollenbeck says roughly 180 walked across the stage Sunday afternoon. Each student was allowed six guests for the ceremony with mask use and social distancing in effect due to COVID-19.
This was the first in-person graduation ceremony for the college after coronavirus caused last year’s spring graduation to shift to an online platform and forced the cancelation of the winter commencement ceremony.
