October 11, 2006

(Columbia, MD) – Howard Community College (HCC) will hold its 22nd annual graduation ceremony to recognize adult students who have earned a Maryland high school diploma in the past year through the college's Adult Basic Education (ABE) programs. The ceremony is scheduled for Sunday, November 5, 2006 at 3 p.m. in the Smith Theatre on the HCC campus, located at 10901 Little Patuxent Parkway, Columbia, Maryland 21044. A reception for the graduates and their friends and families will immediately follow in the Kittleman Room of the English, Language, Business building (ELB-100).

Betty Noble, Director of the Center for Entrepreneurial & Business Excellence, is scheduled to deliver the keynote speech to the group of approximately 30 graduates, ranging in age from 16 to 60. The program will include greetings from Howard County Executive James Robey, a musical interlude from the Howard High School Madrigal Singers, and the opportunity to hear several of these adult students relate their inspirational stories.

HCC's Division of Continuing Education and Workforce Development offers adults a variety of basic education programs, including individual skill development courses, such as Basic Math, Basic Algebra and Geometry, and Writing for the Workplace and Personal Use, and two options for earning a Maryland high school diploma: the General Educational Development (GED), and the External Diploma Program (EDP). For more information on ABE programs at HCC or the upcoming diploma ceremony, call 410-772-4982, or email blessey@howardcc.edu, or visit the website www.howardcc.edu and click on "Continuing Education."