HOLYOKE — The crowd roared inside the MassMutual Center in Springfield on Saturday morning as Holyoke Community College conferred associate degrees and certificates to 742 graduates from the class of 2025 at the college’s 78th commencement ceremony.

Before commencement began, Taisha Martinez of Holyoke said she was feeling nervous but excited. She plans to attend Springfield Technical Community College after graduation to pursue a degree in nursing.

“I’m going to miss it,” Martinez said of her time at HCC. “They were really there for their students, and I felt like I had all the support that I needed.”

Alexandria Casavant of Northampton, a member of the Student Senate who presented the 2025 class gift during the commencement ceremony, said their time at HCC was “an incredible, positive, life-changing experience.”

“I first went into HCC not really sure where my life was going to go or turn, and I came out of a really dark spot when I first started here,” Casavant said. “And after just jumping right into the Senate and being involved in classes and with people, I really grew as an individual. And it’s really shaped who I am today. I was not the same person I was three years ago. And I’m just so grateful.”

The commencement ceremony featured several inspiring stories, including that of student orator Isa’Rose Ramos of Westfield. When Ramos first started their journey at HCC, they were “navigating neurodivergence and grief while carrying invisible weights.” Ramos went on to be a student mentor and tour leader, completing a Human Services internship and earning a Human Services certificate.

“I stand before you not just as a graduate, but as a garden that survived the storm,” Ramos said. “To every student sitting here who thought they wouldn’t make it, look at you now. You are not just graduates. You are gardens. You are the bloom of becoming.”

Nearly all of the student speakers said the support from faculty and staff and the sense of community on campus helped them thrive and achieve their goals, with many planning to attend four-year colleges after graduation.

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SaúlCaban and Miguel Velez, who work in the ALANA mentorship program for men of color at HCC, beamed with pride during the ceremony.

“To see it all come together — all the resilience that the students show, along with our faculty, our staff — we have a strong ecosystem, a strong community to really help our students get to this point, and it takes a lot of work together,” Caban said. “I’m super excited for (the graduates).”

Keynote speaker and English professor Elizabeth Trobaugh of Amherst, who was honored with the 2025 Elaine Marieb Faculty Chair for Teaching Excellence Award during the ceremony, echoed that sense of pride in the college’s community and its alignment with HCC’s core values of kindness, inclusion, and trust.

“Like a coral reef or a forest, HCC is an ecosystem that provides a learning environment where students can thrive,” Trobaugh said.

Trobaugh recalled a friend joking that she “went into the family business” when she decided to become a community college professor — both of Trobaugh’s parents taught English at the Bronx Community College. Trobaugh said that she learned values like inclusion from them.

“Learning is the birthright of every living thing,” Trobaugh said. “And access to education is the mark of a just society, the hallmark of a democracy. Pursuing an education is a noble endeavor that we at HCC are honored to support and advance.”

During the ceremony, HCC President George Timmons presented Distinguished Service Awards to four people for their work on behalf of the college, including auto dealer Gary Rome, an HCC Foundation board member, passionate advocate for HCC, donor, and a driving force behind HCC’s annual Together HCC fundraising campaign; Susanne Campagna, education director for the Hampden County Sheriff’s Department and chief facilitator of the department’s culinary arts training program at HCC; David Gadaire (posthumous), the late, long-time leader of MassHireHolyoke (formerly Holyoke Works); and Trudy Monson ‘97, a long-time volunteer and current president of the HCC Alumni Association.

Before the conferring of the degrees, graduate Makayla Nelson sang an outstanding rendition of “This is Me” by Keala Settle from the movie “The Greatest Showman.”

“I won’t let them break me down to dust,” Nelson sang as members of the audience swayed with phone flashlights to the music. “I know that there’s a place for us … For we are glorious.”

Nelson’s performance garnered a standing ovation.

That energy continued as the crowd clapped, cheered and yelled for each of the graduates as they walked across the stage to receive their degrees and certificates.

“I’m just so happy for them,” Velez said with a smile. “I wish them all the best. They’re our future leaders.”

Amherst: KaiCaban, Christopher Coburn, West Davis, Lexie Ephraim, Gabriela Espinoza Zavala, Benjamin Haupt, Cameron Henry, Kirill Ivaniuk, Andrew Jones, Grace Koehler, Yuxin Lei, Joshua McBride, SaroNtahobari, Teagan Perkins, Julia Rodrigue, Cristobal Rodriguez, Zayd Sadiq, Joshua Taylor, Grace Vo.

Belchertown: Ebony Ivory Audet, Eileen Barrington, Samual Bertsch, Amber Blinn, Riley Breen, Chloe Breton, Rebekah Clough, Dylan Coffey-Moore, Ethan Fay, Morgan Fijal, Danielle Foster, Hailey Garrow, Anthony Giard, Vaughn Gillen, Megan Golenski, Joel Gonzalez, Josiah Gonzalez, Caterina Guerin, Chayton Honeywell, Chloe Jenks, Brian Kirk-Pelissier, Morgan Kite, Anna Kouzmenok, Sophie Laramee, Michael Ludwig, Timothy Lynch, Callan Martin, McKenna Martin, David Mastalerz, Karl McAvoy, KassidyMorrissette, Aura Oviedo, Justin Pendrick, Anja Potter, Alexander Prefontaine, Caroline Primavera, Kelly Rippy, Marie Siri, Elijah Smith, Hannah Teixeira, Isabel Vigneault, Dmitri Weise, Max Wojcik.

Chesterfield: Erin McCormick, Alex Sussman.

Easthampton: Sarah Akin, Nolan Arocho, Nathan Biddulph, Kira Cross, Marlina Devine, Gavin Downer, Donald Eggleston, Ashleigh Fox, Jeremiasz Galicki, Annemarie Gogol, Jessica Grygorcewicz, Joshua Haining, Marcus Hickley, Patricia Jasmin, Caroline Laveck, Elizabeth Loiselle, Tatiana Madera, Justin Malek, Emily Moszynski, Brandon Reccord, Sevi Rodriguez, Jessica Thomas, Faith Vittum, William Walaszek.

Florence: Ariana Mei Aquilino, Alexiz Cruz, William Grady, Aidan Jones, Elissa Lennon, Laura Michon, Stephanie Raftery, Ephraim Sieber, Julian Skowron.

Goshen: Lauren Williams.

Granby: Maxwell Anischik, Caleigh Green, Maureen Hindle, Olivia Hinkley, Garrett Kosior, Kevin Longo, Suzanne Magaro, Nicholas Menard, Karlie Moriarty, Carlos Robles, Jessica Roy, Diana Swanigan.

Hadley: Jacob Kenney.

Haydenville: Zachary O’Connell.

Holyoke: Ariana Alvarado Diaz, Tyler Applebee, Ryan Aswegan, YadiraBatiz, Jonathan Benitez, Amy Bonilla, EnelyBonilla, DarienBulgado, Katherine Cabrera Veloz, Alvin Rey Carabuena, Ileana Casillas, Yaritzia Castillo Torres, Jalen Cortes, Michael Cranshaw, Jeremy Cruz, Dalymar Cuevas Roman, Julleyka Curet, Kiara Davila, Christian De la Torre Santoyo, Yamaira Dejesus, Brian Diaz, William Diaz, James Dunn, Brendan Duval, Dinmariel Ferrer, Ana Figueroa, Ashly Figueroa, Samantha Figueroa, Aolanis Figueroa Pinto, Kaya Guzelek, Jordan Hart, NuriyeKartal, Brendan Kavanah, Cathryne Kennedy-Cruz, Danielle LaPalme, Jordan Larkin, Daley Levesque, Crystalline Lopez, Daneisha Luciano, Taylor Malone, Andres Martinez, Denisse Martinez, Taisha Martinez, Vivian Medina, Jennifer Monserrate, Joseph Moquin, Alejandra Morales, RitahMutesi, BekirOkatan, Michael Pepe, Izaak Perez, Elle Platanitis, Rosamond Porter, Adiaris Reyes, CamrynRist, Lexyanna Rivera, Erick Rivera-Gonzalez, Jomar Rodriguez, Katelyn Rodriguez, Aiden Ross, Chasity Santiago, Luz Santos, Hannah Savenko, Victoria Smith, Kimberly Sugrue, Patrick Sweeney, Adam Sypniak, Chelsea Taxman, Anthony Thomas, Brian Torres, Verenyse Vargas, Karen Webb, Rachel Westcott, Eleanor White, Jadys Williams, Emma Wilson.

Huntington: Victoria Kopec, Caleb Labonte, Christofer Thrasher.

North Hatfield: Owen Korpiewski, Loni Thibault.

Northampton: Leah Ansaldo, Owen Aptekar-Cassels, Rachel Borntrager, Peyton Boughton, Alexandria Casavant, Jesse Conner, Zachary Fox, Ryan Gerwe, Olivia Iarossi, Michael Lariviere, Haomin Li, Juliette Long, Tina Marie Lundwall, Norma Mejia Ayala, Orlando Morales, Andrew Rudnicki, Christina Ruggiero-Corliss, Gregor Toulson Wimmer, Rebecca Tremblay, Mmesoma Udegbunam, Alondra Vazquez.

Pelham: Shawna Schuster.

Plainfield: Mystie Ford.

South Hadley: Lara Asarese, Angela Bessone, Tyrell Braithwaite, Sarah Carragher, Patrick Conway, Helen Deater-Deckard, Alexandra Gates, Mariangelis Guzman, Laila Kovacs, Reese Mackenzie, Amara Manoogian, Allyson O’Dell, Jacob Palmer, MickaylaPatruno, Sean Petit, Craig Pfister, Amber Rodrigue, FinneasRoels, Liam Sibley-Welch, Rachel Vazquez-Perrin, Mei-Lin Velez.

Southampton: Joseph Bartolucci, Vincent Bartolucci, David Betournay, Laci Chapdelaine, Emma Czarniecki, Spencer Czarniecki, Kyle Dale, Barbara Granger, Wilson Heath, Zeynepm Ibic, Charles Little, Marshall McAuslan, Shea Merriam, Justin Meunier, Meredith Mielke, Frederick Murray, Alaina Pellegrini, Kai Ramos.

Ware: Shelly Bowder, Madisyn Davis, Kristen Dubuque, Kristen Farmer, Hannah Jacques, Brian Maraglia, Theresa Sutton, Arianna Vila, Darren Wawro, Xavier Williams, Caitlin Woodward.

West Hatfield: Rachel Picard.

Westhampton: Elizabeth Colon-Garcia.

Williamsburg: Andrew Delisle, Nora Goncalves, Jessica Liimatainen, Johnathan Santiago.

Elise Linscott is a freelance writer living in Northampton. She can be reached at elise@eliselinscott.com.