Lincoln College conducts 151st Commencement with honorary doctorates bestowed on Alex D. “Sandy” MacKinnon and Richie Gajate Garcia

[May 10, 2018] 

LINCOLN 

On Saturday afternoon the Lincoln Center on Lincoln College campus was full to capacity for the 151st commencement ceremony.

Nearly 250 students graduated with half of those receiving associate degrees and the other half bachelor's.

This year's number of bachelor degree graduates increased by one-third over last year. According to college stats, "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."

According to Lincoln College President David Gerlach the college will continue to expand its options in bachelor degree programs and has its sights set on offering master degrees in the near future.

President Gerlach presided over this year's ceremonies at which two honorary doctoral degrees were conferred, one to1960 alum Alex D. “Sandy” MacKinnon, and the other to renown percussionist Richie Gajate Garcia.

MacKinnon is a successful businessman entering retirement. He is the former owner and CEO of MacKinnon Equipment & Services. MacKinnon received many awards over his career. According to his bio he takes pride in two awards 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."

MacKinnon's customer-focused approach and highest ethical standards, transformed a failing Yale Equipment dealership into a highly successful firm with five locations in Florida and Georgia.

MacKinnon has never forgotten the many opportunities he was afforded in his life-time. There were role models who provided him incentive to achieve a quality of life, and he is most appreciative for the persistent encouragements of his mother, and of President Raymond Dooley and his wife when he came to Lincoln College.

MacKinnon says that he learned at LC to apply himself to academics and with that discipline went on to apply himself in business opportunities, "I am where I am today because of Lincoln College."

A couple bits of advice that MacKinnon offered are to lead through example, work hard, and share your vision with others (employees) when you are planning, and then they will be there to jump in when you need them.

MacKinnon applauds the vision of the Lincoln College Trustees who are moving the college forward by way of expanding back to being a four-year college. At the Leadership Panel he said, "You have a great history, you are getting better every year, you have more people who are carrying the Lincoln message. I commend you and thank you for all you do."

The other doctoral recipient was percussionist supreme, Richie Gajate Garcia. Through his life's work Garcia expanded how Latin and other percussion influenced music is heard and taught.

He has influenced the design of a number of percussion instruments collaborating with the company Latin Percussion on the Richie Gajate Garcia Signature Series Congas, Bongos and Djembe, and he invented the Gajate Bracket.

At the Percussion Workshop held on Wednesday, Garcia gifted the college with a full set of new professional instruments from his signature line so that students will have professional instruments for use to inspire them.

President Gerlach said this was a great gift to the college and it was given by Garcia from the heart.
 

Garcia has recorded and/or performed with - Phil Collins, Sting, Don Henley, Frankie Valli, Stevie Wonder and Ritchie Sambora. He toured with many great names in music - Diana Ross, Patti LaBelle, John Denver and Hiroshima.

He also collaborated in a number of compositions for the screen, most recently the Disney Oscar winning animated film 'Coco,' which made him cry, twice, when he watched it.

He tops all that off teaching, having created the written directional language percussion instruction books use today, and he has his own instruction books.

On Saturday, Garcia also shared that he is a man of faith, and shared how scripture serves as his foundation in life.

In reference to Lincoln College's future Garcia said, "I think just having the name Lincoln, which is a name that everyone in this nation respects and admires, just having that name alone is a very big plus."

Working in the music field, he sees the opportunity for the college to become more international.

He said that the spirit he feels here is very good. He believes potential students who visit will feel the pull to come to Lincoln College and seeing it decide, "This is the latest stuff. This is the place to go, here."

The 2018 student speaker was Ashlyn Carroll of Lincoln, who was received her bachelor’s degree of Business Administration in Business Management.

Carroll's academic achievements have been Special Honors, President’s Honors, Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society, Who’s Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges. She was 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.

Carroll has been a teacher aide in Lincoln, assistant for the local high school’s softball team and a student Ambassador for Lincoln College.

Pomp and circumstance, ceremonies aside and diplomas in hand, the graduates eagerly joined their proud family members for a reception, during which there were also many tearful and happy good byes to their fellow students before jumping into packed cars for a rapid exit to somewhere other than school.

For a number of students, the mile-marker was ever so much more valued as they were the first in their lineage to receive a bachelor's degree. Those graduates, most receiving encouragement and support of their families, are breaking territory, and in all likelihood because of them there will be many more family members seek and earn degrees from Lincoln College or some other place.

[Jan Youngquist]