Northam Accepts College’s Invitation to Give Address

(Melfa, VA) – Virginia Governor Ralph Northam is slated to deliver the commencement message for the Eastern Shore Community College 2021 50^th Graduation Ceremony, to be held at 6:00p.m. Thursday, August 5, at the Nandua High School Auditorium in Onley, VA.  The ceremony was rescheduled from May to accommodate the changing landscape surrounding COVID-19 recovery.  The event will celebrate the accomplishments of ESCC students from a number of programs and areas of study. 

ESCC President James Shaeffer commented, “We are most honored to have Governor Ralph Northam accept our invitation to address our students and families. The resiliency shown by our graduates through the difficult period of COVID-19 and their ability to adjust and prevail over these challenges warrant special recognition.  We feel the governor’s attendance adds to the excitement and relevance of this momentous occasion and provides an exclamation mark to our YES! (Your Eastern Shore) culture of hospitality at ESCC.”

Before he was inaugurated as the 73^rd Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia, Ralph Northam served as an Army doctor, pediatric neurologist, business owner, state Senator and Lieutenant Governor. A native of Virginia’s Eastern Shore, Governor Northam is a graduate of Onancock High School and was educated at the Virginia Military Institute (VMI), where he graduated with distinction. After graduation, Governor Northam was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the United States Army. He served eight years of active duty and rose to the rank of major. Governor Northam and First Lady Pamela Northam have two adult children.

Students and special guests have been issued tickets for the event and a reception is planned immediately following commencement. President Shaeffer added that “sincere thanks are shared with our educational partners at Nandua High School. We appreciate the collaboration with administration and staff at Nandua, assisting us in making this special for our students and guests. It will provide a wonderful and appropriate prelude to upcoming celebrations surrounding ESCC’s 50^th Anniversary celebrations in the Fall and into 2022.”

Questions can be directed to wlecato@es.vccs.edu.

Eastern Shore Community College is a comprehensive two-year institution in the Virginia Community College System serving Accomack and Northampton Counties.  The College offers transfer and career/technical degree and certificate programs as well as professional education and workforce development.  ESCC is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.  ESCC does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, or age in its programs and activities.