Another Record Year: Nunez Tops High Mark for Credentials Awarded at 2026 Commencement Ceremony

Nunez Community College awarded 1,359 college credentials, including 980 degrees, during its 34th Annual Commencement Ceremony May 20 in Chalmette, marking the second consecutive year that Nunez has awarded a record number of credentials.

The number of family and friends on hand to see their loved ones graduate filled the Sigur Center to near capacity, with guests spilling out of the seating area into the walkways. The growing attendance is in line with Nunez’s recent growth, as the college has experienced a 20% increase in enrollment, doubled its annual completers, and tripled the number of students earning industry-based credentials over the past five years.

“By choosing Nunez Community College, our graduates chose to build something new—to write, and in many cases rewrite, their own stories,” said Dr. Tina Tinney, Nunez Chancellor. “They made the powerful decision to invest in themselves, and that is something to be deeply proud of. As we celebrate the most awarded graduating class in our college’s history, we are reminded that these achievements represent more than individual success—they inspire all of us to keep growing, keep giving, and to believe in the transformative power of education to strengthen families and communities.”

Nunez celebrated graduates from 60 cities in three states, including three siblings, a 71-year-old eldest graduate, and three students who achieved a perfect 4.0 GPA: Michael Keen of Slidell, Chloe Vaccarella of Meraux, and Sterling Wold of Slidell.

Vaccarella was one of 250 Nunez Dual Enrollment students to receive a college credential in the same month they graduated from high school.

Other notable graduates included the first cohort to graduate from Nunez’s Wind Energy Technology program, 17 Adult Education grads, 17 student athletes, and 19 military veterans.

Nunez’s guest speaker for the commencement ceremony was new Louisiana Community and Technical Colleges System President Richard Nelson, who was experiencing his first graduation season on the job since assuming his role in January.

“Progress happens when ordinary people do extraordinary things. And they do it again and again,” President Nelson told the graduates. “And I’ll tell you, what you’ve done is extraordinary.”

He continued, “Think about what got you here. It wasn’t perfection. It wasn’t certainty. It was showing up again and again, especially on the days when it would have been much easier not to. And that habit of showing up is more important and more powerful than ability alone.”

Recognized during the ceremony, Dr. Lauren Englade-Franklin, professor of natural science, was presented with the Excellence In Teaching Award. Franklin is a two-time winner of the prestigious award, having also won the award in 2019. She was one of three finalists chosen by her fellow faculty members, along with Alex Mulvaney, Instrumentation [SC1] instructor, and Fred Sakon, instructor of mathematics.

Dr. Tinney also made a special presentation to Chef Ruth Varisco, who is retiring after dedicating more than 30 years to teaching in Nunez’s Culinary Arts program.

“Thank you Nunez, for permitting me the privilege of living my best life,” said Chef Ruth, who was named Chef of the Year in 2018 by the New Orleans Chapter of the American Culinary Federation.

Registration is currently open for both the Summer and Fall 2026 semesters at Nunez.edu.

Graduates are listed below by hometown:

ABBEVILLE

Cody Breaux

ARABI

Jermani Daniels

Gavin Estopinal

Vincent Genovese

Troy Green

Gunnar Hendershot

Milton Joseph

Ivan Lacayo

Tasha Leon

Jacob Lystra

Marissa Martin

Selvyn Mejia Pacay

Madeleine Monaghan

Christopher Mondy

Nicole Neyland

Noah Oliver

Brelynn Remel

Oday Samad

Trance St. Germain

BATON ROUGE

Miller Sabrika

BELLE CHASSE

Hunter Boudreaux

Matthew Bougere

Warren Desierto

Vincent Drake

Brian Duplessis

Michael Entrekin

Stone Entrekin

John Fruge

Blaise Galmiche

Daisy-Anne Green

Wanita Green

Austin Guimbellot

Cedric Harris

Noah Hernandez

Drake Illg

Titan Marchand

Landon Marse

Jaliyah Merrick

Jennifer Penisson

Michael Stephens

Tyler Tauzin

Tanner Usey

BOUTTE

Marquis Price

BRAITHWAITE

Vernon Augustus

Christin Bailey

Jaden Harvey

Ashton Lafrance

Landon Leonard

Dylan Manes

Eugene Miller

Jaylon Ragas

Se'Maj Williams

Joseph Yanez Orellana

BRIDGE CITY

Darion Braud

Baylor Bustamento

Cooper Frank

Robert Hazell

BURAS

Ta'Hlor Denet

Shanquale Sylve

BUSH

King Garrison

CARENCRO

Kendrell Williams

CHALMETTE

Blake Adams

Sam Ainsworth

Khyai Alexis

Lander Alvarado Garcia

Laura Amorim

Samuel Asevado

Brennin Assavedo

Stanley Bailey

Russell Beaty

Jacquel Brown

Timothy Burns

Gavin Burtchaell

John Carl Cagandahan

Claudean Capers

Jesse Cochrane

Raymond Corlis

Alexandra Cruz Avalos

Amelia Cusimano

Kayden David

Kyran Davis

Dwayne Day

Sabria Dean

Nevaeh Delone

Ayden Devine

Rudy Dubuclet

Abby Eady

Darien Ford

Heather Gallo

Amanda Garcia

Jose Garcia

Tahj Gardner

Anders Georgusis

Ethan Gleason

Sha'kira Gray

Courtney Griffith

Jaden Guidry

Gage Hebert

Emma Heintz

Evan Helffrich

Lia Henry

Jayro Hernandez-Martinez

Charlotte Hollier

Wesley Hollingsworth

Jacob Howell

Kyleigh Hueschen

Danjanae Johnson

Keira Johnson

Kerry Johnson

Sharon Johnson

Jackson Jones

Kendrell Jupiter

Dionne Knight

Riley Kruger

Alyssa Laurente

Noah Legendre

Jay-Jay Magundayao

Joseph Martin

Miranda Martinez

Cedric McDonald

Chardon McPherson

Aslyn Miles

Kylie Miller

Crystal Mitchell

Moinuddin Mohammed

Joanah Muscarello

Ta'Tiyana Novoselsky

Logan O'Neill

Frank Padilla

Demond Parish

Najaha Parker

Caden Ponthieux

Skye Quillin

Richard Quiroz

Mohammed Rabee

Logan Ragan

Hunter Retif

Damian Rice

Alex Ricouard

Nathaniel Robin

Erin Rodriguez

Lorenzo Ruiz

Kaleb Saavedra

Landon Sanchez

Tyarell Simmons

Troy Sino

Tateyana Smith

Samuel St Louis

Jordyn Sylve

Dajha Sylvester

Marina Taira

Trenese Thornton

Aubrey Toups

Nevaeh Treitler

Sean Vicknair

Dominick Vu

Kalyn Wallace

Yazzmine Wallace

Pheona Wells

Caden White

Camryn White

Jayden White

Rachel Wilson

Penelope Woods

Ricky Wuertz

Evan Ye

Jace Zornes

COVINGTON

Samantha Adams

Blake Arnold

Christopher Chapman

Marcus Newfield

Cayle Talley

Kody Yesenosky

DES ALLEMANDS

Landon Cortez

DESTREHAN

Alisa Angelin

Luciano Saltaformaggio

GEISMAR

Eli Fuselier

GONZALES

Luke Conerly

GRAMERCY

Veron Cohen

GREENSBURG

Coley Logan

GRETNA

Maxwell Agee

Kerrick Bradley

Justin Brauher

Deriane Bush

Nelson Dorlus

Gunnar Dupre

Sthara Elie

Christina Gaspard

Izo Jaghama

Marcelino Lopez

MaQuesha McClinton

Jocelyn Medina

Francis Nguyen

Nichole Offord

Jacob Pellman

Grayson Pizani

Jahnai Ventris

Lawdell Winding

HAHNVILLE

Tate Blanchard

HAMMOND

David Ladner

HARVEY

Christian Andrews

Terriannetta Brown

Trucal Brown

Jordon Caine

Alexis Casado

Demetria Coleman

Tommy Conaway

Ryan Davis

Lathan Dolliole

Alonzo Edwards

Alexander Eley

Jared Farria

Nicolette Franklin

Eric Glaude

Rashade Jackson

Jada Jenkins

Laila Marchand

Eddrina Owens

Brittany Rodgers

Aiden Roussell

Victoria Scott

Alexandra Simplus Gabriel

Frank Wricks

KENNER

Suami Aguilar

Taylor Barre

Michael Ford

Lorenz Moise

Chloe Nero

KENTWOOD

Eli Woodard

LA PLACE

Jemal Baptiste

Rayven Hayes

Tiara Price

Adam Shelmire

Terrion Veal

LACOMBE

Michael Gautier

Dirk Holmgren

Caroline Olsen

LIVINGSTON

Mason Hill

LULING

Kason Alexander

Truman Moyer

LUTCHER

Chaduthaddeus Carter

MADISONVILLE

Evan Bauer

Troy Beaujeaux

Michael Norris

Brock Taylor

MANDEVILLE

Ethan Dardar

MANY

Alexis Rainer

MARRERO

Rayleigh Albritton

Terrell Antoine

Nathen Borge

Zane Broussard

Ashton Clark

Girod Coleman

Zaire Collins

Chad Cross

Brittani Dorsey

Azaviya Ebersole

Krissy Ellis

Malik Epherson

Shavonda Fort

Lawvonta Francois

Jake Gegenheimer

Landon Gonzalez

Ein Hensley

Nikolette Hobbs

Brennan Jiles

Jeff Johnson

Raven Johnson

Roscoe Jones

Niki Kondylis

Fabian Lambert

Mario Matthews

Jazlyn Morton

Jeremiah Murphy

Dan Nguyen

Kathleen Nguyen

Jacob Pereira

Kortlin Pizani

Landen Pizani

Logan Pulliam

Ethan Ramos

Leonardo Reyes

Aaliyah Robinson

Dyshell Shaffer

Unique Shelvin

Da'Yana Shoulder

Raheim Sims

Chanel Toefield

Jared Valence

Harmony Washington

Derek Weber

Rylee Weckesser

Carlos Zaragoza

MERAUX

Tyler Adams

Jaxson Allnet

Aziya Austin

Trent Baggese

Haley Bellande

Randon Bourgeois

Kartier Boyd

Brennan Cobden

Allison Cochran

Joel Diecidue

Charles Dixon

Hayden Edwards

Destiny Gaudet

Kyrin Gonzales

Mason Hayes

Kaylie Hiers

Jace Landry

Hailey Landwehr

Jerome Lang

Haleigh Martin

Carl McLeod

Brennan Menesses

Caroline Miller

Brooke Montelongo

Noah Moran

Vitoria Morin

Abdul Muhammad

Nyssa Phillips

Hailey Pilet

Michael Poche

Lionel Rayford

Randi Lynn Rhoden

Paul Russell

Bane Tenorio-Peres

Tyler Towle

Kaiya Trowbridge

Chloe` Vaccarella

Rodneka Vanburen

Gavin Watson

Sophia Wehrlin

Talon Westberry

Jada Wilson         

METAIRIE

Erykah Bell

Nancy Cheramie

Collier Crockett

Jade Johnson

Jonathan Lawson

Jakob Long-Franco

Samuel Nicholas

James Noonan

Coresha Scott

Keith Vitrano

Colin Wibel

MOUNT HERMON

Kendall Sheridan

NEW ORLEANS

Hawk Abdul-Mutakallim

Toshia Adams

Ashley Allen

Markisha Allen

Ahmad Alphonse

Robresha Anderson

Gregory Arnolie

Fredrick Banks

Walter Barial

Alton Bates

Gary Bell

Angel Bennett

Jace Bienemy

Kevin Bowden

Bridget Bridges

Trevon Brooks

Tatyana Brown

Tra'Vean Brown

Jalon Burns

Aaliyah Burrows

Brittany Cadogan

Ronald Cash

Miyanna Clark

A'Naya Crutchfield

Keely Davis

Chunader Dawson

Tyreaka Dennis

Jay Distler

Deizhanae Dixon

Shirley Doggett

Azalea Dowell

Jahleel Doyle

Devin Duplessis

Sarah Evans

Kedrin Everfield

Isieny Fernandez

Michelle Fields

Keioka Fletcher

Onitra Franklin

Larrineisha Gaines

Destin Gardner

Kinmont Garrett

Gino Glover

Briana Griffin

Shanta Hardy

Kai Henry

Amber Herring

James Hilton

Edward Hines

Tairelle Holmes

Silas Houston

Ashley Howard

Jalen Hyde

Willie Irons

Briante' Isidore

Paris James

Jermaine Jasmine

Mekell Johnson

Shaunta Johnson

Johnelle Jones

Jovansia Jones

Joy Jones

Andrea Joseph

Myrian Joseph

Sierra Joseph

Kentswan Journee

Deontae' Julian

Micquanique Junius

Caden Jupiter

Jake Kaufmann

Tristen Kelly

Erica King

Taylor King

Madison Lawson

Jermaine Lewis

Yasine Lewis

Durand Louis

George Lumar

Briyanna Martin

Shondrika Mayo

Dallas McKinley

Josue Mendez Sanchez

Danielle Miller

Samuletta Moliere

Keyandra Montgomery

Sierra Morgan

Emily Nguyen

Ayanna Omoruyi

Isaac Oquendo

Tamiko Perry

Johri’Yan Phillips

Angel Quillens

Savannah Rattley

Jashad Robinson

Carlos Rojas

Mitchell Schwartz

Alexis Scott

Dayshawn Scott

Erin Scott

Jean Selders

Ashley Sentimore

Seymone Shelling

Taylor Short

Patrick Simmons

Nicholas Singleton

Steven Sisofo

Claudia Smith

Destiny Smith

Trevonne Smith

Kurt Sykes

Jacob Sylvan

Troy Taylor

Raven Thomas

Renatta Thomas

Kesha Thornabar

Treyvione Todd

Eshon Trosclair

Brandon Tuesno

Tiffany Turner

Raquel Verret

Josefa Wade

Breyana Waiters

Sunshine Walton

Berthard Watson

Eric Watson

Blaize Watts

Jessie Whitfield

Shantrelle Wilkerson

DAndrea Williams

Jorden Williams

Tayla Wilson

Jacall Wynder

Niyah Young

PAULINA

Brock Loque

PEARL RIVER

Morgan Autry

Hailey Boudreaux

Tyler Burlett

Glenn Butler

Isabella Domino

Caleb Dreux

Spencer Granger

Cole Kilburn

Blake Polk

PONCHATOULA

Asia Fleming

Matthew Martinez

PORT SULPHUR

Tiffany Phillips

RIVER RIDGE

Conan Buchanan

SAINT BERNARD

Michael David

Tyler Estopinal

Christopher Fisher

Ayla Guenther

Michael Lopiccolo

Paris Menesses

Misty Pilet

Erikah Serigne

SAINT ROSE

Itzel Deleon-Duran

Thelma Selders

William Vesquez

SHREVEPORT

Clinton Henderson

SLIDELL

Andre Allen

Mallorie Alombro

Keshanica Andrews

Quin Barbay

Dominique Baudy

Carson Boriskie

Madeline Boteler

Kimberly Briscoe

Raeniece Broussard

Amber Brown

Shanna Buzbee

Ismi Cartagena

Joshua Carter

DeJon Clark

Keneisha Crain

Myah Cruz

Redic Davis

Adream Dukes

Ikechukwu Egenti

Alena Estrada

Lanata Fournette

Jason Frilot

James Funches

Seth Gambill

Stephen Gant

Sebastian Garafola

Drake Gibson

Shantelle Haynes

Jalen Honore

Sheline Hulbert

Brady Johnson

Briana Joseph

Aidan Joyner

Michael Keen

AnJanae' King

Deandra King

Kennadie King

Donald Lofton

Bryla Major

William Mattern

Jada McCathen

Christian McCormick

Amanda McNeill

Jeffrey Mock

Virginia Montelongo-Kline

Sanaa Morris

Jakson Nyberg

Taylor O`Brien

Kevin Page

Nkosi Payne

Jermiriyah Pierre

Cody Pisciotta

Jaylyn Price

Gabriel Rubio

Carolynn Schick

Tanea Shanks

Mason Siener

Cassidy Simmons

Grant Simmons

Kobe Stewart

Kennady Thomas

Kyle Thomas

Ronald Thorns

Dominic Veals

James Vines

KeAndre' Watkins

Zenaida Welsh

Christian White

Sterling Wold

ST. BERNARD

Ethan Barnes

Travis David

Ethan Deselles

Jace Gonzales

Jordan Hill

Kailyn Laylle

Christopher Miller

Bella Ramirez

Wyatt Ricouard

Steve Roberts

Zander Lepine

Kye Smith

TERRYTOWN

Kenneth Calvin

Matt Perez

THIBODAUX

Brendan Gaubert

VIOLET

Chantelle Abadie

Mateka Alexander

Emaleigh Bergeron

Jonira Bienemy

Erroll Blanks

Kaydin Brown

Jaycen Celestine

Jayden Celestine

Christina Etienne

Braedon Fernandez

Corey Groves

Raquel Guidry

Deadra Johnson

Travera Johnson

Aden Koepp

Rachel Lasseigne

Andon Long

Lawana McCuller

Laneisha Morris

Kane Roche

Hope Thoms

Terrence Wilson

WALKER

Luke Pittman

WESTWEGO

Mikell Bankston

Nore Jacks

Lace Julian

Barbara Lewis

Lauren Lynch

Luke Palermo

Lily Rodrigue

Misty Rodrigue

Paul Taylor

YOUNGSVILLE

Connor Stelly

ZACHARY

Carson Dayton

Brody Smith

KILN, MISS.

Hunter Kuhn

PICAYUNE, MISS.

Hayden Calato

Hunter Calato

Chad Dudenhefer

Carla England

Shaundel Thomas

LITTLE ELM, TEXAS

Jasmine Brown