MIDDLETOWN - Christine King had a message for the SUNY Orange graduates that spread across the alumni green Saturday.

King knows what hardship feels like. In the early 1970s, she was a single mother on welfare living in a trailer in Monroe. King had 33 cents left in her bank account.

She could have given up, begged for help or let cynicism prevail.

Instead, she convinced a caseworker to find money for her to enroll at SUNY Orange, where she graduated in 1973 with degrees in liberal arts and electrical engineering. Today, King is president of SMSC, one of New York's largest semiconductor companies.

"The most important thing I left here with was a sense of confidence and a can-do attitude," King told the 400 graduates in attendance. About 730 received degrees.

Many of the grads will take jobs as nurses, teachers or police officers, while others pursue advanced degrees at other colleges. SUNY Orange administrators handed out diplomas early because rain threatened.

That didn't stop families from hooting and hollering for almost 40 minutes while their graduates were introduced.

Jean Elizabeth Kuveke.

A boyfriend jumped out of his seat, snapped photos and yelled, "Yea, babe!"

Monica Marie Mars.

"Monicaaaaaa!" Then the clunky jangle of cowbells.

Jasmine Yvette Moya.

"Woooooo!" a woman yelled while running with a bouquet of roses.

After the last name was read, graduates moved their tassels, signifying the end of one journey and the start of another.

 

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