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From my perspective, graduation also gives us an opportunity to look beyond the credential and to consider the human qualities that made this achievement possible in the first place. The biggest quality that I see when I look out across the room during commencement is grit.

The reasoning behind NOT asking, however, is solid. Jobs are changing rapidly — much faster than our curriculum cycles. We cannot reasonably keep up.

What I did not fully appreciate was how quickly a cyberattack can become an institutional crisis…Students trust us with their education, their financial information, their personal data, and often their futures. We are built to be open and accessible institutions, and that openness, while central to our mission, can also create vulnerabilities.

Our Board of Trustees plays a critical function in guiding the college, yet many people are unsure how trustees are selected and what their roles actually entail. It's important to take a few minutes to share just why their service matters so much to Erie County.

What makes this model effective is the commitment of leaders across the Commonwealth to work together in meaningful and consistent ways. We are in this together, truly.

The new strategic plan reflects this approach. It is focused on students, built on data, shaped by community needs, and designed to ensure that EC3 continues to provide Erie County with a talented and well-trained workforce while helping students achieve their educational and career goals.

Over the past four and a half years, EC3 has grown from a simple idea into a college that is transforming lives throughout Erie County. We found this college based on one single belief: everyone deserves affordable and accessible education. That's it.

At EC3, we believe that, if we expect students to become conversant with AI, we must model its use ourselves.

Today, I want to talk about first-generation college students, those who enter our classrooms every semester not equipped with generational knowledge about the academic system and how it works.

We are committed to embedding success coaches directly into classes such that students have immediate access to help when they need it most.