May 7 Commencement Speakers Feature the White House Social Secretary and a Student Who Soared After Getting a Fresh Start

Contact: Linda Wallace, 215-751-8082, liswallace@ccp.edu
Annette John-Hall, 215-751-8021, anhall@ccp.edu

PHILADELPHIA, April 27, 2016— Deesha Dyer will serve as Community College of Philadelphia’s 2016 Commencement Speaker.

Graduation begins at 10 a.m. on May 7 at Temple University’s Liacouras Center, 1776 North Broad Street. This year, the College has 2,056 candidates for graduation. Among them are 58 veterans, 14 international students representing eight countries, five employees of the College and a record-high 29 members from The Center for Male Engagement, an on-campus organization geared toward African American males designed to enhance skills, cultivate a sense of belonging and build resolve. Among CME’s graduates is Muriyd Fuller, a Liberal Arts Honors Option major who is headed to the University of Pennsylvania to pursue a bachelor’s degree in Philosophy.

Dyer was unable to join her fellow graduates at Community College of Philadelphia’s 2012 commencement. She had good reason, however, as she was working at the White House and traveling with President Barack Obama. She finished her degree while still in Washington, DC, completing her final classes online. Four years later, as the White House Social Secretary, she will return to Philadelphia to serve as the commencement speaker.

“I’m very honored to have the chance to come back home and speak at my alma mater,” Dyer said. “Without Community College of Philadelphia, I would have never made it to the White House. I hope my journey from Community College of Philadelphia to the White House will inspire the graduates to continue to pursue their dreams and use their degrees to better their communities.”

Thomas Duliban, a 20-year-old Liberal Arts Honors Option major, will serve as student speaker. He enrolled at Community College of Philadelphia seeking a fresh start after what he describes as an undistinguished career in high school, where he took developmental classes. “The College judged me for who I am now, not for who I was,” he said.

Duliban said he received the proper combination of support and rigor, allowing him to blossom academically. During his tenure at the College, Duliban studied abroad in Japan, and held several

leadership positions at the College, including Vice President of Public Relations for Phi Theta Kappa, the international honor society for two-year colleges; Student Representative for the Liberal Arts Curriculum Committee and Orientation. He was a recipient for the Charitas Foundation Scholarship, and is a semifinalist for the Jack Kent Cooke Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship, which provides up to $40,000 a year to selected students. He hopes to transfer to New York University, Temple University, Fordham University or Swarthmore College next year.

 

Dyer was raised in both Philadelphia and Hershey, where she attended the Milton Hershey School. She started at the White House in 2009, at the age of 31, after applying for an internship in the Office of Scheduling and Advance. She was hired full time in 2010 as the Associate Director for Scheduling Correspondence, and moved on to become the Deputy Director and Hotel Program Director in 2011. In that role, Dyer traveled with the President and First Lady working on press, lodging and site logistics. She was promoted to Deputy Director and Deputy Social Secretary in 2013. Dyer is currently Special Assistant to the President and White House Social Secretary.

As many Community College of Philadelphia graduates do, Dyer has also maintained a long-standing commitment to community advocacy in several capacities, including her role working with young adults at the Youth Health Empowerment Project, as creator of a hip-hop AIDS program based in Philadelphia, as a CARE advocacy volunteer and as a board member at Action AIDS. She currently volunteers with the homeless community in Alexandria, VA, and mentors young girls for a global empowerment program in Philadelphia. She also serves as a mentor in the First Lady’s mentee program.

 

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Community College of Philadelphia is the largest public institution of higher education in Philadelphia and the sixth largest in Pennsylvania. The College enrolls approximately 34,000 students annually and offers day, evening, and weekend classes, as well as classes online. Visit the College at www.ccp.edu. Follow us on Twitter. Like us on Facebook.