Bucks County Community College Celebrates 47th Commencement

More than 800 students graduated from Bucks County Community College during a commencement ceremony Thursday at the Newtown Campus.

It was the college's 47th annual commencement and featured speaker James Bennett, an award-winning artist and illustrator who graduated from BCCC in 1983.  

“They say that the most frightening moment in an artist’s life is when he’s about to begin a painting, and he starts by looking at that big, blank canvas,” Bennett told graduates and their families.

“Your future is like that big, blank canvas. It can be positively frightening. But it can also be the most exciting and gratifying experience of your life, when you begin to fill that  space with your own combination of lines, colors and ideas, and most importantly, hard work. The end result might be different than what you had originally planned, but that’s where the fun starts, because the line never stays straight.”

Bennett, who went on to earn a full scholarship to the School of Visual Arts in New York, has had illustrations printed as covers and interior pieces for The New York Times, Forbes, Time, Sports Illustrated, Mad, Business Week, Reader’s Digest and Philadelphia magazines, among others. Bennett lives in Bucks County.

The college recognized Bennett’s achievements by granting him an honorary Doctor of Public Service degree.

Graduate Theodore Prime, a business administration major and member of Kappa Beta Delta, also spoke. Prime, a Yardley resident, was chosen to address his classmates in recognition of his outstanding achievements, according to college officials. 

Before the commencement, BCCC held its annual Honors Convocation, presenting more than $200,000 in scholarships and awards at an afternoon ceremony in the Gateway Auditorium. More than 150 awards were presented; most of the funds came from the BCCC Foundation, a nonprofit educational trust.