{"id":22550,"date":"2025-07-01T13:04:34","date_gmt":"2025-07-01T17:04:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom2\/2025\/07\/01\/center-for-adult-education-end-of-year-celebration\/"},"modified":"2026-05-14T13:33:18","modified_gmt":"2026-05-14T17:33:18","slug":"center-for-adult-education-end-of-year-celebration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/2025\/07\/01\/center-for-adult-education-end-of-year-celebration\/","title":{"rendered":"Center for Adult Education End-of-Year Celebration"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>On Thursday, June 26, the Northern Essex community gathered to celebrate the Center for Adult Education\u2019s Class of 2025 in a moving and joyful ceremony.<\/p>\n<p>The event recognized 24 High School Equivalency (HSE) graduates, 6 HiSET Subtest passers, ESOL program completers, newly naturalized U.S. citizens, and\u2014for the first time\u201415 students inducted into the <a href=\"https:\/\/necc.edu\/student-life\/honor-societies\/\">National Adult Education Honor Society<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_29293\" style=\"width: 283px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"http:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom2\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2026\/02\/cd06bc81-a31f-44cc-979b-38ee8c46d29a.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-29293\" class=\" wp-image-29293\" src=\"http:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom2\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2026\/02\/cd06bc81-a31f-44cc-979b-38ee8c46d29a.jpg\" alt=\"President Lane Glenn on stage giving opening remarks to the crowd at the CAE End-of-Year Celebration\" width=\"273\" height=\"410\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-29293\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">President Lane Glenn on stage giving opening remarks to the crowd at the CAE End-of-Year Celebration<\/p><\/div>\n<p>President Lane Glenn welcomed attendees with remarks that included a brief message in Spanish, expressing his deep admiration for those learning English as a second language, as it is no easy task.<\/p>\n<p>Guest speaker Lawrence Mayor Brian DePe\u00f1a shared words of encouragement and pride for the graduates, many of whom come from immigrant and working-class backgrounds. He praised their resilience and the vital role adult learners play in strengthening the local community.<\/p>\n<p>Two student speakers concluded the speaking portion of the evening. Angela Del Rosario, a Spanish HSE graduate, fought off tears as she thanked her professors and family for their support during her educational journey.<\/p>\n<p>HSE Valedictorian Joseph Hardacre delivered an emotional and inspiring speech, closing with a message of perseverance: \u201cI am not here because I always had the best grades. I am here because I chose not to quit. This one\u2019s for all the late bloomers\u2014turns out we bloom just fine.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Before the traditional walk across the stage, the audience was treated to a surprise performance by the group of new U.S. citizens. In a touching tribute to their new home, they performed \u201cGod Bless America,\u201d accompanied by live guitar music. The heartfelt rendition drew enthusiastic applause and emotional reactions from the crowd.<\/p>\n<p>The evening concluded with cheers, tears, and hugs as graduates and their families shared cake and celebrated accomplishments that, for many, once seemed out of reach.<\/p>\n<p>NECC&#8217;s Center for Adult Education (CAE) offers free educational programs to help adults reach their personal, academic, and professional goals. Dedicated teachers and staff support adult learners in developing essential skills for school and work, helping them to be more effective in their communities.<\/p>\n<p>Learn more about the Center for Adult Education at NECC <a href=\"https:\/\/necc.edu\/workforce\/for-our-community\/adult-basic-education\/\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On Thursday, June 26, the Northern Essex community gathered to celebrate the Center for Adult Education\u2019s Class of 2025 in a moving and joyful ceremony. The event recognized 24 High [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":126,"featured_media":33885,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[108,132,305,319,429],"class_list":["post-22550","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-students","tag-cae","tag-center-for-adult-education","tag-hiset","tag-hse","tag-national-adult-education-honor-society"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Center for Adult Education End-of-Year Celebration - NECC News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/2025\/07\/01\/center-for-adult-education-end-of-year-celebration\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Center for Adult Education End-of-Year Celebration - NECC News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"On Thursday, June 26, the Northern Essex community gathered to celebrate the Center for Adult Education\u2019s Class of 2025 in a moving and joyful ceremony. 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