{"id":23757,"date":"2021-05-10T21:29:12","date_gmt":"2021-05-11T01:29:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom2\/2021\/05\/11\/from-high-school-drop-out-to-high-honors-college-grad\/"},"modified":"2026-05-13T15:20:37","modified_gmt":"2026-05-13T19:20:37","slug":"from-high-school-drop-out-to-high-honors-college-grad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/2021\/05\/10\/from-high-school-drop-out-to-high-honors-college-grad\/","title":{"rendered":"From High School Drop Out to High Honors College Grad"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

Michelle Colbert-Mason of Haverhill has been selected as the student speaker for NECC’s Center for Liberal Arts Graduation Ceremony.<\/p><\/div>\n

Michelle Colbert-Mason dropped out of Haverhill High School when she was 16, but she didn\u2019t skip a beat, earning her GED later that year, and enrolling in college at the age of 17.<\/p>\n

On May 15, Colbert-Mason, now 20, will graduate from Northern Essex Community College with high honors and a degree in Liberal Arts: Journalism\/Communications Option<\/a>, and plans to transfer on for a bachelor\u2019s in communications. She has been selected to be the student speaker for the Center for Liberal Arts<\/a> Commencement Ceremony.<\/p>\n

While her high school experience was challenging\u2014she experienced bullying\u2014she doesn\u2019t dwell on it. \u201cYou can\u2019t let setbacks hold you back,\u201d she says. \u201cI\u2019ve found that anything is possible if you set your mind to it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Colbert-Mason\u2019s goal is to become a broadcast journalist\u2014Oprah Winfrey is an inspiration\u2014and she plans to continue her studies in communication at Boston University, Northwestern, Northeastern, Simmons, Emerson, or UMass Amherst. She\u2019s applied to all and is waiting to compare financial aid packages, since she\u2019s paying for college herself and affordability is important.<\/p>\n

Even before the pandemic, Colbert-Mason took most of her courses online, and because of her success with that format, she was hired as a student ambassador<\/a> this year to help students new to online learning.<\/p>\n

Students who are struggling are referred by faculty to Colbert-Mason and the other student ambassadors, who help connect them with tutoring and other support services.<\/p>\n

At Northern Essex, Colbert-Mason also participated in Phi Theta Kappa, a national honor society; worked in the Liberal Arts Academic Center; and was in PACE, a federally-funded academic support service for first generation college students.<\/p>\n

All in all, Colbert-Mason has had an overwhelmingly positive experience at Northern Essex.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m so happy to have found Northern Essex and stuck with it,\u201d she says. \u201cI met great people, learned a lot about myself, and found more responsibility.\u201d<\/p>\n

This year, due to the pandemic, Northern Essex Community College is holding five smaller graduation ceremonies on Saturday, May 15 on the Haverhill Campus, organized by academic center. Each ceremony will include a student speaker and traditional awards will be presented throughout the day. Students will have the opportunity to cross the commencement stage and receive their well-earned associate degree or certificate.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Michelle Colbert-Mason of Haverhill has been selected as the student speaker for the Center for Liberal Arts Graduation Ceremony.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":27,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[9,20],"tags":[607,274,301,504],"class_list":["post-23757","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-alumni","category-students","tag-transfer","tag-ged","tag-high-honors","tag-phi-theta-kappa-ptk"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nFrom High School Drop Out to High Honors College Grad - 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\/2021\/05\/10\/from-high-school-drop-out-to-high-honors-college-grad\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"From High School Drop Out to High Honors College Grad - NECC News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Michelle Colbert-Mason of Haverhill has been selected as the student speaker for the Center for Liberal Arts Graduation Ceremony.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/2021\/05\/10\/from-high-school-drop-out-to-high-honors-college-grad\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"NECC News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-05-11T01:29:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-05-13T19:20:37+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Ernie Greenslade\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Ernie Greenslade\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/2021\/05\/10\/from-high-school-drop-out-to-high-honors-college-grad\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/2021\/05\/10\/from-high-school-drop-out-to-high-honors-college-grad\/\",\"name\":\"From High School Drop Out to High Honors College Grad - NECC News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2021-05-11T01:29:12+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-05-13T19:20:37+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/#\/schema\/person\/6a4640513b41a61d0435b6972d4577c9\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/2021\/05\/10\/from-high-school-drop-out-to-high-honors-college-grad\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/2021\/05\/10\/from-high-school-drop-out-to-high-honors-college-grad\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/2021\/05\/10\/from-high-school-drop-out-to-high-honors-college-grad\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/home\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"From High School Drop Out to High Honors College Grad\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/\",\"name\":\"NECC News\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/#\/schema\/person\/6a4640513b41a61d0435b6972d4577c9\",\"name\":\"Ernie Greenslade\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/75ae84652c63c20fe24eb5858c280eb011192a5104499880542d7f8dfd6ef2c9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/75ae84652c63c20fe24eb5858c280eb011192a5104499880542d7f8dfd6ef2c9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Ernie Greenslade\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/author\/egreenslade\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"From High School Drop Out to High Honors College Grad - NECC News","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/2021\/05\/10\/from-high-school-drop-out-to-high-honors-college-grad\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"From High School Drop Out to High Honors College Grad - NECC News","og_description":"Michelle Colbert-Mason of Haverhill has been selected as the student speaker for the Center for Liberal Arts Graduation Ceremony.","og_url":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/2021\/05\/10\/from-high-school-drop-out-to-high-honors-college-grad\/","og_site_name":"NECC News","article_published_time":"2021-05-11T01:29:12+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-05-13T19:20:37+00:00","author":"Ernie Greenslade","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Ernie Greenslade","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/2021\/05\/10\/from-high-school-drop-out-to-high-honors-college-grad\/","url":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/2021\/05\/10\/from-high-school-drop-out-to-high-honors-college-grad\/","name":"From High School Drop Out to High Honors College Grad - NECC News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/#website"},"datePublished":"2021-05-11T01:29:12+00:00","dateModified":"2026-05-13T19:20:37+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/#\/schema\/person\/6a4640513b41a61d0435b6972d4577c9"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/2021\/05\/10\/from-high-school-drop-out-to-high-honors-college-grad\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/2021\/05\/10\/from-high-school-drop-out-to-high-honors-college-grad\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/2021\/05\/10\/from-high-school-drop-out-to-high-honors-college-grad\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/home\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"From High School Drop Out to High Honors College Grad"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/#website","url":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/","name":"NECC News","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/#\/schema\/person\/6a4640513b41a61d0435b6972d4577c9","name":"Ernie Greenslade","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/75ae84652c63c20fe24eb5858c280eb011192a5104499880542d7f8dfd6ef2c9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/75ae84652c63c20fe24eb5858c280eb011192a5104499880542d7f8dfd6ef2c9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Ernie Greenslade"},"url":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/author\/egreenslade\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23757","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/27"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23757"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23757\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23758,"href":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23757\/revisions\/23758"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23757"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23757"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23757"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}