Graduation season is upon us, and on May 21 we’ll be handing out diplomas, donning caps and gowns, and celebrating success at Southern Maine Community College’s 70th commencement.

Graduation is a time to shine the spotlight on students who have succeeded in college. But it’s also a time to look forward as graduates use what they have learned at SMCC as a steppingstone to bright futures.

While I can name numerous individual students who are on the path to future success, I can also point to our entire Midcoast Campus nursing program’s graduating class. Nursing Professor Elizabeth Bailey, says all of the graduates are prepared to go far in their careers.

When they came to SMCC, some were nursing assistants, one was a waitress, another was a bartender. During their time here, they have juggled family responsibilities and part-time jobs with their academics, and several squeezed in the time to volunteer in the community

After graduating, they will be ready for high-wage, satisfying careers as registered nurses, caring for people and a making a real difference in their lives. They have all completed a rigorous nursing program that was out of their reach only a few years ago. At this point, they are proceeding with job applications and interviews, and one has already accepted a job offer.

“They are all now ready to walk into a professional nursing role using leadership and communication skills and relying on putting critical thinking into action in order to provide the best possible nursing care,” says Bailey. “These are all skills that they nurtured and/or discovered by completing their degree. This is the third nursing class to graduate from the Brunswick program, and I have been amazed by the effort and accomplishment of all.”

SMCC’s nursing program has 180 students who are enrolled at both our South Portland and Brunswick campuses. About 65 of those students – 10 of them from the Brunswick campus – are set to receive Associate in Science degrees in nursing at commencement.

In all, more than 1,000 SMCC students have earned degrees and certificates over the past year. Our graduates come from all 16 counties in Maine and 16 other states, from New Hampshire, Massachusetts and elsewhere in New England to as far away as Florida, Arizona and Oregon.

The value of a college education is undeniable. At SMCC, more than 90 percent of our students enter the workforce or transfer to another school within nine months of graduation. A federal Department of Education college scorecard found that students had an average salary of $37,300 after attending SMCC — a higher figure than that of most private and public colleges and universities in Maine.

To our 2017 graduates: Take pride in how far you have come and have faith in how far you can go.

By Ron Cantor is president of Southern Maine Community College.