(Rocky Mount, NC) Nash Community College students, faculty and staff are preparing for a record graduation on Wednesday, May 12 and Thursday, May 13, 2010. Over 450 students plan to graduate with a degree, diploma or certificate at the college's forty-second graduation ceremony. This represents an increase in graduates of more than 20 percent from 2009.

North Carolina Lieutenant Governor Walter H. Dalton will deliver the address at this year's curriculum commencement ceremony on Thursday, May 13, 2010 at 6:00pm. Nash Community College President William S. Carver, II, Ed.D. and Board of Trustees Chair William M. Marshburn will preside over the ceremony. NCC Department Chairs will present graduates with their degree, diploma or certificate.

Prior to his election as Lieutenant Governor, Walter Dalton served six terms in the North Carolina Senate. He authored the Innovative Education Act and created North Carolina's early college program. Nash Community College is among the state's community colleges offering the early college program providing eligible students a head start on a college education, advanced vocational preparation and personal enrichment opportunities. Students who start the program in the ninth grade can earn a technical degree or complete two years toward a college degree after five years. Dalton sits on the State Board of Education and the State Board of Community Colleges. A longtime leader in economic development, Walter Dalton has worked to bring new, high-quality jobs to North Carolina and increase the funding for community colleges.

Born in Rutherfordton, North Carolina, Lieutenant Governor Dalton graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration and a law degree. He built a successful law practice and has been deeply involved in the community serving as a United Methodist Church lay speaker, a former Cub Scout leader, and local community college board chair.

The nurses' pinning ceremony is scheduled for Thursday, May 13 at 7:30pm and will recognize program graduates that will be eligible to sit for the NCLEX-RN licensure exam. John Derbyshire, MD of Rocky Mount will deliver the address for the nurses' pinning ceremony. Dr. Derbyshire has worked with the NCC nursing students through the Tar River Mission Clinic where they provide healthcare services and screenings to underserved local residents. An Internist, he currently serves as the Physician Advisor for Utilization Review and Recovery Audit Contractor Readiness Program at Nash Health Care Systems. He attended The Ohio State University where he played football on scholarship, earned a Bachelor of Science degree and a Doctor of Medicine degree. His specialized studies in internal medicine were completed at Duke University and The Ohio State University.

Upon graduation, he served as a Major in the United States Army working at Womack Army Hospital. His professional experience includes work in a private practice and at Boice-Willis Clinic. Derbyshire is an active member at Lakeside Baptist Church in Rocky Mount and serves on the Nash Health Care Systems Foundation Board and holds memberships to the American College of Physicians and North Carolina Medical Society.

Nash Community College's Adult High School and General Education Development (GED) commencement ceremony is scheduled for Wednesday, May 12 at 6:00pm. North Carolina Representative Angela Bryant, JD will deliver the address for the Adult High School and GED graduation ceremony.

Representative Angela Bryant is a Diversity and Organizational Development Consultant with VISIONS, Inc, an organization with which she co-founded. She is the former Director and one of the developers of The Wright's Center - VISIONS' award winning multicultural adult day health care project in Rocky Mount for elders, disabled adults, their caregivers and service providers.

Bryant earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Math and Juris Doctorate degree at the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill (UNC-CH). She has held several appointed governmental positions, including service on the UNC-CH Board of Trustees and the UNC Board of Governors. She was a Charter Member and former President of the North Carolina Association of Women Attorneys and the1983 Lawyer of the Year for the North Carolina Association of Black Lawyers.

In 2006, she received the Distinguished Alumni Award from UNC-CH and in 2010 she received the service to Humanity Award from the Rocky Mount Human Relations Commission. She served on the City Council of Rocky Mount, for Ward 4 for three years and briefly served as Mayor Pro Tem before being appointed to the House of Representatives in 2007. Bryant currently serves as Chair of the Energy and Energy Efficiency Committee, Vice Chair of the UNC Board of Governors Nominating Committee and the Democratic Business Caucus and a member of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Natural & Economic Resources, Joint Oversight Commission on Dropout Reform & Utilities, Education Subcommittee on Universities and the Election Law and Campaign Finance Reform, Judiciary I, Juvenile Justice, Public Utilities, Ways and Means/Broadband Connection, Poverty Reduction and The Ex-Offender Reintegration Into Society Committees.
Each ceremony will be held in the Nash Community College Business and Industry Center Brown Auditorium. For more information, call 252-451-8219.



North Carolina Lieutenant Governor Walter H. Dalton - Lieutenant Governor Walter H. Dalton will deliver the address Nash Community College curriculum commencement graduates on Thursday, May 13, 2010 at 6:00pm.




John Derbyshire, MD - John Derbyshire, MD of Rocky Mount will address the Nash Community College nursing graduates at the nurses' pinning ceremony on Thursday, May 13 at 7:30pm.



Representative Angela Bryant, JD - Representative Angela Bryant, JD will address Nash Community College's Adult High School and General Education Development (GED) graduates on Wednesday, May 12, 2010 at 6:00pm.

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