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 Again this year, the college will host a special
public “Excellence in Leadership” panel the day before graduation,
featuring the college’s two honorary degree recipients – Alex D.
“Sandy” MacKinnon, a 1960 graduate of Lincoln College and Richie
Gajate Garcia, one of the world’s most in-demand percussionists and
educators.
The “Excellence in Leadership” panel is set for 3 p.m. on Friday,
May 4, on the main stage of the Johnston Center for the Performing
Arts. The public is invited to join students, faculty and staff for
the session.
The number of bachelor’s degree recipients is up sharply from last
year, when 85 students received four-year degrees. The high number
of bachelor’s degree recipients reflects both growth in the
College’s traditional four-year degree programs on the Lincoln
Campus and its non-traditional Accelerated Bridge to Education (ABE)
programs in Normal, Peoria and Oglesby.
The commencement ceremony will take place in the Lincoln Center on
the Lincoln campus beginning at 12:30 p.m., on Saturday.
In addition to the two honorary degree recipients,
the student speaker this year will be Ashlyn Carroll, of Lincoln.
Carroll is receiving her bachelor’s degree of Business
Administration in Business Management. She previously received her
associate degree from the College in 2016.
She has been on the Special Honors List and the President’s Honors
List, is a member of the Phi Theta Kappa honor society and was
recognized by Who’s Who Among Students in American Universities and
Colleges. Ashlyn was also a student-athlete for two years on the
softball team, earning a NJCAA Superior Academic Achievement Award,
First Team NJCAA All-Academic and Mid-West Athletic Conference
Academic All-Conference Softball honors.
Ashlyn works as a teacher aide in Lincoln, serves as the local high
school’s softball team assistant and has served as a student
Ambassador for Lincoln College.
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The featured speaker at the commencement and one of
the members of the “Excellence in Leadership” panel, Alex D. "Sandy"
MacKinnon, graduated from Lincoln College in 1960. He is a
successful businessman and the former owner and CEO of MacKinnon
Equipment & Services.
Using a customer-focused approach and following the highest ethical
standards, MacKinnon transformed a failing Yale Equipment dealership
into a highly successful firm with five locations in Florida and
Georgia.
Throughout his career MacKinnon has received many awards, but he
says he takes particular pride in two that exemplify strong
character traits –the H.L. Culbreath, Jr., profile in leadership
award and the Tampa Bay Ethics Award, presented by the University of
Tampa Center for Ethics.
Richie Gajate Garcia is well known in the world of
professional musicians. He has recorded and/or performed with Phil
Collins, Sting, Don Henley, Frankie Valli, Stevie Wonder and Ritchie
Sambora, as well as worked on film scores including Disney’s Oscar
winning animated film Coco. He has also performed on a number of
Grammy award winning and Grammy nominated songs. He has toured with
a variety of artists including Diana Ross, Patti LaBelle, John
Denver and Hiroshima.
Gajate Garcia invented the popular Gajate Bracket and collaborated
on the Richie Gajate Garcia Signature Series Congas, Bongos and
Djembe all produced by Latin Percussion.
[Mark Gordon
Public Relations and Media Manager
Lincoln College] |
