Palm Beach State College welcomed U.S. Rep. Brian Mast (R-District 21) and Florida Rep. Peggy Gossett-Seidman as the keynote speakers during the college’s 2024 fall commencement ceremonies at noon and 4 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 13 at the iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre.
Mast spoke at the noon ceremony, while Gossett-Seidman addressed the 4 p.m. ceremony.
During the ceremony, PBSC awarded degrees and certificates to more than 1,800 graduates, including more than 800 graduates of the associate in arts degree program and more than 1,000 graduates of the associate in science, bachelor of applied science and bachelor of science degree programs, and the certificate programs.
“You must make a plan for the world, or the world will make a plan for you,” PBSC District Board of Trustees Chair Jon Harrison told graduates. “You have proven by being here that you have what it takes to succeed; you’ve shown drive, a strong work ethic, you’ve shown up.”
“You are graduating from an institution making a difference in the community,” PBSC President Ava L. Parker added. “Once you leave the gates from your neighborhood, you come in contact with someone from PBSC every day.”
Parker introduced Mast, a much-decorated veteran. She noted that prior to his election to Congress, he followed in his father’s footsteps by serving in the U.S. Army for more than 12 years. While deployed in Afghanistan, he worked as a bomb disposal expert under the elite Joint Special Operations Command. The last improvised explosive device that he found resulted in catastrophic injuries, which included the loss of both of his legs and a finger.
“We all have explosions in our life. Mine was on a September evening in Afghanistan,” Mast recounted. “Yours might be as you are going along in academia, your work or with your family or personal relationships, but what matters is what you choose to do in response to the explosions in your life. Do you sit in a corner in cry or do you stand up to it and become stronger?”
He urged the new graduates to be the architects of their own future.
“No one wants you to be complacent more than the people who want your job,” Mast said. “You must wake up tomorrow and decide if you have the drive, determination and fortitude to accomplish your dreams.”
