“The only constant in this world is change, so embrace it and aim for solution,” Seward County Community College president Ken Trzaska said as he began Seward’s 48th annual commencement ceremony for the class of 2019.

The ceremony began with Trzaska giving the graduates a few words of advice, challenging the students to not be uncomfortable striving for better in this life.

“It’s not important where you stand but where you are moving,” Trzaska said.

At every ceremony, the president announces two specific awards, instructor of the year and student of the year. For instructor of the year, students are able to vote for who they thought truly fit the values of SCCC and someone who is unique in a classroom setting.

Biology instructor Ty Hughbanks, was awarded instructor of the year for his ability to relate to students in the classroom. 

“Ty is a genuine person who makes learning fun. He is also thorough and patient and his lectures are relatable and fun. Ty is awesome,” read Trzaska from student ballots.

Student of the year is similar to instructor of the year, but both faculty and students are in charge of deciding who has taken full opportunity of what SCCC has to offer. The faculty made the decision but handed off the results to the student government association on campus to make the final call.

Moises Alvarez was named the 2019 student of the year. Alvarez is involved in many activities on campus, such as being apart of Circle K, Phi Theta Kappa, HALO and is vice president of  SGA. Alvarez is also a presidential scholar and plans to transfer to Kansas State University in the fall as a psychology major.

Before the graduates were announced and given their diplomas, special guest and speaker Jonny Vergara, addressed the graduates. Vergara is the youngest senior branch manager of Sunflower Bank of Liberal.

Vergara talked about the hardships he faced before attending SCCC and realizing that he wanted to do his current occupation for the rest of his adulthood. Vergara wanted to leave the graduates with four main points he made in his speech. One of them is the following:

“Your past mistakes are meant to guide you. I learned that failures are opportunities to be better. A quote that really resonates with me is ‘being great today doesn’t make it permanent, you have to earn greatness every single day. There is no finish line’,” Vergara said.

Vergara also talked about how his choices were the results of his future. Being honest with himself about the things that needed to be addressed and fixed was another good point Vergara made to the audience. Once Vergara was honest with himself, he said he was finally able to make better choices which lead him to where he is now.

“Nothing is easy about realizing you hold yourself back. Choices make your future. The choices you make should scare you,” Vergara emphasized.

Vergara also wanted to inspire the graduates to not let opinions of others hold them back from attaining success. Vergara was held back growing up because he said he didn’t think he was good enough but it took many early mornings, long nights and hard work to get to where he was.

A quote that Vergara wanted to leave the graduates with was, “Now is the time to take a risk, do something bold you won’t regret it.”