House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo to Give Commencement Address at Bunker Hill Community College
Friday, April 21, 2017
House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo will be the keynote speaker at Bunker Hill Community College’s 43rd Commencement exercises, which will take place on May 20, 2017, on the Charlestown Campus.
“We are grateful to Speaker DeLeo for being the College’s long-time partner in improving college completion rates and making higher education more accessible,” said Bunker Hill Community College President Pam Eddinger of Speaker DeLeo.
Since becoming Speaker in 2009, Speaker DeLeo has focused on giving residents of all skillsets a competitive edge through inventive education initiatives. He has been particularly focused on community colleges recognizing the critical role they play providing students with pathways toward job readiness and economic prosperity. Through the FY14 budget, the Massachusetts House of Representatives created the STEM Starter Academy, a program that complements and extends curriculum pathways to align with the workforce demands of employers in the STEM fields.
In addition to improving the economic lives of the state’s residents, Speaker DeLeo has focused on making the state a safer and healthier place. In 2014, Speaker DeLeo led the Legislature in passing a consensus-driven gun safety law that closes existing loopholes, creates a sustainable framework to stop gun trafficking and establishes best practices for school safety. Under his leadership, the House of Representatives has made strides in helping to combat the current substance addiction epidemic. The Legislatures has passed two medically comprehensive substance addiction bills and increased funding for this public health crisis to unprecedented levels.
”Community colleges represent the gateway to opportunity for so many students. Bunker Hill Community College, in particular, does a great job of preparing students from a diverse set of backgrounds for success,” said Speaker DeLeo. “It is truly an honor to be named keynote speaker for Bunker Hill Community College’s Commencement.”
Speaker DeLeo attended Boston Latin School, where he played on the baseball team, and went on to earn a B.A. from Northeastern University and a J.D. from Suffolk University Law School.
Speaker DeLeo was recently awarded the 2017 Legislative Achievement Award from The Massachusetts Association of Early Education and Care. In 2014 he received the Governor Walter R. Peterson Award for Leadership from the New England Board of Higher Education; and was selected as Legislator of the Year by Attorney General Martha Coakley, the Victim Witness Assistance Board and the Massachusetts Office for Victim Assistance.
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About Bunker Hill Community College
With more than 50 years of academic excellence, Bunker Hill Community College (BHCC) is Massachusetts' largest community college, annually welcoming a diverse community of around 16,000 students. With campuses in Charlestown and Chelsea, BHCC extends its reach across several locations in Greater Boston. The College offers associate degrees and certificates, early college and dual enrollment, community education, corporate training, and industry-specific training programs. BHCC is celebrated for its diversity, boasting a student body where 65% identify as people of color and more than half are women. The College also embraces a global perspective, with over 600 international students representing 90 countries and conversing in more than 65 languages. Our commitment to diversity is further reflected in BHCC's designation as a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) and an Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institution (AANAPISI).