By André Green/se news edit
A former Tarrant County College student will deliver the keynote address at the district’s 39th annual spring commencement Friday, May 11, at 6:30 p.m.
The ceremony will award associate degrees and certificates of completion to the 1,370 participants.
Esmeralda Duran, a 2006 Jack Kent Cooke Scholarship recipient, said she was thrilled to be selected as speaker for this year’s graduating class.
“ I was very surprised,” she said. “Last year we had a state representative as the speaker. I thought I was going to be a secondary speaker, but when I was told I was the primary speaker, I was honored.”
Last year, Duran was one of 38 community college students out of 676 nominees selected to receive the
scholarship of $30,000 per year for two years.
While at TCC, Duran was a member of NE Campus’ Cornerstone Honors Program and is currently in the Southern Methodist University Honors Program.
She is pursuing a double major in English and foreign language and is a pre-law student. Upon completion, she plans to study immigration law.
Duran said although she is busy getting ready for finals, she is looking forward to addressing the graduating class.
“ I look forward to going back and speaking at my alma mater,” she said.
The commencement will be held at the Fort Worth Convention Center at 1201 Houston St.
Graduates need to arrive at 4:30 p.m. for preparation. Convention center parking is $6.
The Cooke foundation, named in honor of the former Washington Redskins and Los Angeles Lakers owner, began disseminating undergraduate scholarships in 2002.
According to the foundation Web site, Cooke said his “life is better than any F. Scott Fitzgerald novel you ever read.”
Upon his death in 1997, most of Cooke’s fortune was used to create the foundation to give others a chance to pursue their dreams.
For more information, visit www.jackkentcookefoundation.org.
