Congressman Butterfield to speak at VGCC Graduation
U.S. Representative G. K. Butterfield will be the principal commencement speaker for Vance-Granville Community College’s graduation exercises on Friday, May 16.
Theresa Chiplis of Norlina, president of the VGCC Student Government Association, will be the student speaker.
More than 440 students are scheduled to receive their degrees and diplomas in curriculum programs during ceremonies beginning at 6 p.m. at the gazebo by the lake on the college’s Main Campus in Vance County. For those unable to attend the event in person, VGCC will broadcast a live video feed from the ceremony online at vgcc.springerstudios.net .
In the U.S. House of Representatives, Butterfield (pictured above, left) represents North Carolina’s First Congressional District, which includes parts of all four counties served by the college: Vance, Granville, Franklin and Warren. While Butterfield has visited VGCC in the past, this is his first time serving as commencement speaker at the college. He will be the first sitting member of Congress to speak at a VGCC commencement ceremony since 1993, when U.S. Rep. Eva Clayton gave the address.
Butterfield, a native of Wilson, graduated from college and law school at North Carolina Central University in Durham. After earning his law degree, Butterfield founded a law practice in Wilson and served the community in that capacity for 14 years. In 1988, Butterfield was elected as Resident Superior Court Judge. He later served on the North Carolina Supreme Court by appointment of the governor. He was first elected to Congress in 2004. Butterfield currently serves in the Democratic leadership as Chief Deputy Whip and as First Vice-Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus. He sits on the influential Committee on Energy & Commerce as the eighth-most senior Democrat on the Health Subcommittee. In addition, he serves as a member of the subcommittees of Communications and Technology, and Oversight and Investigations.
Theresa Chiplis (pictured above, right) is graduating with degrees in Accounting and Business Administration . Upon graduation, she will continue her studies at VGCC to complete a degree in Global Logistics Technology and to prepare to transfer to a four-year university. While enrolled at VGCC, Chiplis has been an active student leader. She has served as a student ambassador for two years (this year as lead ambassador), and as the president of VGCC’s chapter of the Phi Beta Lambda business student organization in 2012-2013. During the 2013-14 year, Chiplis was president of the VGCC Student Government Association, student member of the Board of Trustees, and president of VGCC’s chapter of the Phi Theta Kappa honor society. She is a 2014 graduate of the North Carolina Community College Student Leadership Development Program. Chiplis has been named to the Dean’s List more than once and has been awarded endowed scholarships by VGCC.
Students serving as graduation marshals will be Carmen Pate of Creedmoor; Brenda Watson of Durham; John Sanford, Amy Stockinger and Brittany Williams, all of Henderson; Sara Belville and Oliva Prezas Garces, both of Oxford; and Donna Beasley of Youngsville.
See also: State Legislator to speak at VGCC Basic Skills Commencement
