Valedictorian Refused To Be Deterred From Her Dream
Ady Helena graduated at the top of PCCC’s Class of 2024. She received her Associate in Applied Science Degree in Accounting with Highest Honors, graduated with a perfect 4.0 GPA, and was the recipient of the 2024 Outstanding Graduate Award for Accounting. She was also named valedictorian of PCCC’s 52nd Commencement ceremony.
Those are amazing achievements under normal circumstances, but they are nothing short of astonishing for a student facing the obstacles that challenged Ady during her college years.
An honor student in high school, Ady qualified for the NJ Stars program, which offers free community college tuition to students who graduate in the top 15 per cent of their class. “That was one of the reasons I decided to attend PCCC,’ she said.
Another reason was that her mother, an immigrant from the Dominican Republic, attended PCCC years before as an ESL student. “She liked the College and recommended it to me,” said Ady.
Her path to PCCC seemed all set until a series of misfortunes changed everything. Ady was diagnosed with Lyme disease, a condition that sapped her energy and strength. She had to change jobs two times, causing her financial stress. She suffered injuries from being hit by a car, not just once, but twice! Ady’s college plans were derailed…but not defeated.
Ady received the Outstanding Graduate Award in Accounting at the May 20 ceremony. Presenting the award is Professor Khloud Kourani.
A year later and still coping with fatigue and pain, the determined student finally began her PCCC journey, “You can’t let challenges deter you from your goals. You have to adapt and overcome. I focused on what I truly wanted to do.”
Ady knew she wanted a career as a certified public account. She was introduced to finance and accounting in high school and showed talent for the field. “Being a CPA aligns very well with my personality. I like to be organized.”
The future accountant thrived in the business classes at PCCC where she discovered that accounting offers a foundation for understanding the entire finance sector. “It’s not all about charts and numbers. You develop analytical and problem-solving skills that are very rewarding.”
Ady served her required internship in the PCCC Finance Department and continues on there as a part-time employee “I can apply everything that I learned in my classes and am developing the skills I will need in my future career,” she said. Working alongside Controller Michael Herlihy, Ady absorbs his advice on “career direction and the academic and personal skills that really matter to success.”
But what stood out most for Ady in her PCCC experience is the sense of community at the College. “PCCC taught me what it means to be a community. People here really care about you and about your personal experiences.”
A devout member of Jehovah’s Witnesses, Ady is frequently visible in her local community and places high value on what it means to be community. Though she had to take some courses virtually and was unable to participate in any co-curricular College activities due to her health challenges, Ady said she found the spirit of community that students often get from those activities in the faculty, staff, and student body of PCCC.
She singles out Professor Edwin Pagan and Professor Khloud Kourani, both of PCCC’s business departmen. “Professor Pagan knew about the highs and lows I had with my illness and was very empathetic. He also cared about my plans for the future. Professor Kourani is an amazing teacher and very supportive. These professors didn’t just teach a class. They took a personal interest in their students.”
Ady was touched that even the students at PCCC genuinely cared about each other. If a student in her public speaking class gave a speech that mentioned personal struggles, classmates often reacted by offering advice or assistance. “I really learned a lot from other students here.”
In her gracious speech, Ady acknowledged that a valedictorian is expected to say something inspirational. “So, what has inspired me these past two years? You, my fellow classmates, have been my inspiration.”
Ady spoke of the time when the fatigue caused by her illness made her feel that she might not achieve her college goal, “but then I would think about a classmate who’s the mother of three young girls, who worked and is also a student, and I would think to myself, ‘If she can do it, so can I.’”
Or when faced with a difficult assignment, Ady would think of another classmate, a recent immigrant who did not have a complete grasp of the English language, “but was in the same class, because nothing was going to hold them back from getting their degree.”
Reminding her fellow graduates that they were already successful, because they achieved their goal to graduate, Ady also encouraged them to “Keep going. Keep dreaming. Keep achieving,” and concluded her valedictory speech by quoting from the speech her own mother delivered as valedictorian of her 1998 graduating class in the Dominican Republic.
“Tonight is a very special night, but it is not the end. It is only the beginning.
Before us, a door of opportunities opens. Don’t close it.”
By Linda Telesco
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