A-B Tech Celebrates Graduates at 2024 Commencement Ceremony
A-B Tech awarded more than 800 degrees and diplomas for the 2023-24 academic year.
A-B Tech Community College celebrated approximately 400 graduates during its 2024 Commencement ceremony on May 11, 2024 at Harrah’s Cherokee Center in downtown Asheville.
A-B Tech President John D. Gossett presided over the ceremony and Asheville entrepreneur Ginger Frank, founder and CEO of Poppy Hand-crafted Popcorn, delivered the keynote address.
“We look forward to commencement as the highlight of our academic year when we gather to celebrate our graduates, their journeys, and their success,” said President Gossett. “Most of our graduates are first-generation college students who are transforming their own lives and the lives of their families for generations to come.”
A-B Tech awarded more than 800 degrees and diplomas for the 2023-24 academic year (fall, spring, and summer semesters), and about 400 graduates participated in the ceremony. Among this year’s graduating class are six Cardio Sonography students who are the first graduates of their program. All six received full scholarships for their educations.
A-B Tech’s record Latinx enrollment includes an outstanding high school student who earned an A-B Tech degree before completing Buncombe County Early College. The daughter of Mexican immigrants, Nadelyn Aguilar-Martin, 18, earned her Associate in Applied Arts and a certificate in Criminal Justice even before receiving her high school diploma in June; she plans to continue on the path to her dream of becoming an immigration lawyer so that she can help families like her own. Approximately 50 other high school students also earned A-B Tech degrees this year.
A-B Tech conferred degrees and diplomas in more than 60 program areas. Approximately 195 Associate in Arts degrees and 75 Associate in Science degrees will be awarded to transfer students who intend to pursue four-year degrees at colleges and universities. Other transfer degrees include Associate in Engineering, Associate in Fine Arts, and Associate in Arts: Teacher Preparation.
The college also awarded 451 Associate in Applied Sciences (AAS) degrees and diplomas in a range of career fields spanning Aviation to Welding. The college trains bakers, chefs, brewers, hospitality managers, accountants, office administrators, medical coding specialists, pilots, paramedics, firefighters, police officers, construction workers, machinists, welders, healthcare professionals, and more.