Close to 200 UCOL Wairarapa students comprise the latest crop of graduates who will be honoured for their hard work at the annual UCOL Wairarapa graduation ceremony at the Masterton Town Hall tomorrow.
Angela Hewitt, UCOL Wairarapa campus manager, said 176 students were eligible to graduate with degrees, diplomas and certificates at the ceremony and will be awarded qualifications in health science, nursing, early childhood education and care, business administration and computing, carpentry, hairdressing, beauty services, sport and exercise, automotive, joinery, contemporary music, cookery and baking.
Ms Hewitt said 23 Bachelor of Nursing graduates is the largest group of successful students and other groups include 11 Certificate in Cookery and Hospitality students, 18 Health Science Certificate graduates and the first eight graduates of UCOL Wairarapa's new Certificate in Contemporary Music Performance programme. During the ceremony, former Wairarapa Community Polytechnic head Jean McCombie will be conferred an Honorary Associate award, a UCOL Council award made to people who have made a significant and distinguished contribution to the life and work of UCOL or to the wider community.
Former Masterton Mayor Bob Francis will be guest speaker at the ceremony after last year being awarded an Honorary Fellowship for his contribution to UCOL and the wider community, Ms Hewitt said.
The three incumbent Wairarapa mayors, Ron Mark (Carterton), Garry Daniell (Masterton) and Adrienne Staples (South Wairarapa) also are expected to attend.
Graduation is an important time to acknowledge and thank the many community groups, businesses and organisations who support UCOL Wairarapa, its staff and students, Ms Hewitt said.
"We have also given priority to maintaining and building up our community links - so apparent in the attendance at our graduation ceremonies of representatives of so many regional, community organisations.
"Our carpentry students have helped build a house for charity, our exercise and sport students have organised activities in schools and students across so many of our programmes have had hands-on experience in workplaces within a variety of industries relevant to their qualification," Ms Hewitt said.
"Even before graduation, UCOL Wairarapa students are already a working force within their community. We are grateful to local businesses for making themselves available for work experience and contributing to student success," she said.
The graduation ceremony starts at 1.30pm. Then at about 3pm, graduates and UCOL staff members will march back to the UCOL Wairarapa campus in a traditional street procession.