May 3, 2024

Hinds CC Graduating Students Lead May 8-10 Ceremonies

Hinds CC graduating students will be speakers at all four spring 2024 commencement ceremonies.
BY: Rhonda Dunaway

RAYMOND – Hinds Community College has 1,270 students graduating in four different commencements this spring.

Nursing and Allied Health (NAH) graduates will have a ceremony at 2 p.m. Wednesday, May 8 in the Clyde Muse Center on the Rankin Campus. Students in all other programs will graduate in ceremonies on May 9 and 10. May 9 ceremonies will also be held at the Clyde Muse Center, and the May 10 ceremony will be in Boyd Gym on the Utica Campus. 

Students with last names beginning with A-L will graduate at a 10 a.m. at the Thursday, May 9, ceremony, and those with last names beginning with M-Z will graduate at a 2 p.m. ceremony on the same day.

The Utica Campus has a separate ceremony. A Bell Tower ceremony preceding the Friday, May 10, graduation is at 1:30 p.m., on the Utica Campus. Graduation will follow at 2 p.m.

The speakers for each ceremony are students receiving degrees who have shown leadership and excellence in their fields of study and were selected by their instructors and peers.

Graduating Student Speakers

Vicksburg resident Elaina Delgado, 20, will speak on behalf of fellow students in the Nursing and Allied Health ceremony. After graduating from the nursing program, she will be working in the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit at St. Dominic Hospital in Jackson and plans to pursue a bachelor’s degree in nursing. 

Kamien Gray, 25, of Cleveland, will say the invocation and benediction for Nursing and Allied Health ceremony. She will graduate with an associate degree in physical therapy. After graduation, she will begin a job as a physical therapist’s assistant.

Weldon Grizzell, 19, of Jackson, will say the invocation and benediction for the 10 a.m. May 9 ceremony. He has earned an associate degree in agribusiness at the Raymond Campus. After Hinds, his plans are to transfer to Mississippi State University where he will study agribusiness with a concentration in policy and law. 

Puckett native Hayley Lambert, 21, will speak on behalf of fellow students the same day.  She has earned an associate degree in interpreter training technology. After graduation, she will volunteer at a church for the hearing impaired in Tennessee for the summer, and then she is planning to pursue a bachelor’s degree.

At the 2 p.m. ceremony, Gabriel D. Williams, 20, of Jackson, will say the invocation and benediction. He has earned an associate degree in art and plans to transfer to Mississippi College to continue his studies.

Casey Westbrook, 20, of Brandon, will speak at the 2 p.m. ceremony. She has earned an associate degree and plans to transfer to Mississippi State University to pursue a degree in psychology.

At the May 10 ceremony on the Utica Campus, Nyelah Dobbey, 20, of Jacksonville, Fla., will say the invocation and benediction. She is earning an associate of Applied Science in Business Management Technology. She plans to transfer to Mississippi College to pursue her MBA.

Basketball player Tra’Shayla Wilson, 19, of Lake, will speak to fellow graduates at the Utica Campus ceremony. She has earned an associate degree and is transferring to Belhaven University where she will continue academic studies and her basketball career.

About Hinds Community College

Our Mission: Hinds Community College is committed to moving people and communities forward by helping develop their purpose, passion and profession. 

Our Vision: Hinds Community College will be a catalyst to create a competitive economy and a compelling culture for Mississippi. 

Our Values: Hinds Community College aspires to the following IDEALSIntegrity, Diversity, Excellence, Accountability, Leadership, Stewardship.

To learn more, visit hindscc.edu or call 1.800.HindsCC.