About 1,200 MCC Students to Earn Degrees, Certificates on May 25
April 19, 2023
Alumnus and Rochester-born civic leader Adrian Hale ’14 to speak at commencement ceremony
ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Monroe Community College will confer associate degrees and certificates in career and transfer programs to an estimated 1,200 students on Thursday evening, May 25. Adrian Hale (’14), a state Board of Regents member and civic leader with experience in education advocacy and economic and workforce development, will deliver the keynote address. He is the 12th consecutive alumnus/a to deliver the keynote address to MCC graduates and their families.
Adrian Hale, MCC’s keynote commencement speaker
A northeast Rochester native, Hale has a deep belief in leadership through service and has been a passionate advocate for advancing equity and opportunity for all. Early in his career, he said, “For us to really address the problems we face as a community, it is important for people like myself who are actually products of those experiences to come back and lead the effort to make a difference.”
After graduating from high school in 2007, Hale enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps and served two tours of duty in Afghanistan. When he returned home from duty, he sought opportunities to reach his full potential. He enrolled in MCC, enlisted in the U.S. Air Force Reserves, and took his next steps toward becoming a public servant.
At MCC, he was active in student government, maintained a 4.0 GPA and received the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Student Excellence. After graduating from MCC with an associate degree in liberal arts and sciences-general studies in 2014, he went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in political science from Yale University. He is the first in his family to attend and graduate from college.
After returning to Rochester, he worked at the Greater Rochester Chamber of Commerce, overseeing workforce development and educational initiatives and leading the chamber’s diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, including serving as a liaison to the Rochester-Monroe Anti-Poverty Initiative. Hale now serves as director of economic and community development for Foundry. He works to improve the educational outcomes for Greater Rochester’s youth and enhance the quality of the regional workforce, and champions a more inclusive economic development strategy.
Hale’s civic engagement further illustrates his commitment to community development. He co-chairs the Finger Lakes Regional Economic Development Council’s Downtown Revitalization Initiative and serves on Gov. Hochul’s Workforce Development Initiative Committee.
MCC’s commencement ceremony will begin at 7 p.m. at the Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial. Watch MCC’s commencement ceremony live.
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Most MCC graduates choose to live, work and continue their studies in the Rochester area. Of the career and certificate program graduates from the MCC class of 2022 who are employed full-time, 90 percent work in Monroe or an adjacent county.