FORT BENNING, Ga., (June 8, 2016) -- Fort Benning's Army Continuing Education System held its third annual graduation ceremony in Marshall Auditorium June 3.
The ceremony recognized 125 graduates from a number of different colleges and universities. During the ceremony, the graduates received a certificate signifying their completion of the graduation requirements for their chosen program.
Among those recognized were 92 Soldiers, 16 Family members, 5 retirees, 11 civilians and 1 contractor.
Shannon Gardner, the supervisory education services specialist at ACES, helped coordinate the event.
"There are many installations that have graduation ceremonies. I was part of the planning committee for the first one," said Gardner.
Gardner said that before coming to Fort Benning she helped organize the graduation ceremony at Fort Campbell.
"Anytime that you're connected to the military, there's always a chance that you're going to move. Something's always going on. This celebration gives them the opportunity to walk across the stage and have that experience that they might not get for a number of reasons," she continued.
"I look forward to this event every year. Getting to know the graduates, their stories. Getting to celebrate them. Knowing their names so that when they come up to me, I know exactly who they are. It's a wonderful feeling," she said.
Col. Andy Hilmes, the garrison commander of the Maneuver Center of Excellence, was the guest speaker at the graduation ceremony.
Hilmes offered a story about his father as encouragement to the graduates. He then used it to share a few words of wisdom with them.
"The best things in life come from hard work. My father came from a poor family, but despite that he never made excuses for not being able to do something. He didn't bow to low expectations that were set by others," Hilmes said.
"It's ok to be scared on the unknown. Change is constant," he continued.
"People still matter and they always will. My father saw his Soldiers and their Families as individuals and he treated them as such. He took an interest in them," he added.
Wendy Winters, the student guest speaker, talked about overcoming personal obstacles to reach her educational goal.
"I have spent over half my life following my husband from duty station to duty station with my children in tow. Getting an education while doing that is very hard," she said.
Winters said that once her husband was preparing to retire and her children were grown up and out of the house she decided to complete her education.
"It was time for me to reward myself. I decided to go back to school for my master's degree," she said.
She credited her husband for his support during the process as well as one of group project members.
Following the ceremony, there was a reception for the graduates, their Families and friends.
Social Sharing