Bergen Community College Class of 2010 Valedictorian Deaho Moon and Keynote Speaker Gualberto “Gil” Medina urged the 2,113 graduates of Bergen Community College to strive beyond personal success to make the world a better place during commencement at the Izod Center on Thursday, May 20, 2010.

Born in South Korea, Mr. Moon told of surviving a childhood with many hardships but with “dreams bigger than the universe.”

Mr. Moon, who immigrated to the United States with his mother three years ago, achieved a perfect 4.0 grade point average at Bergen Community College and won numerous academic awards. He will attend the University of California Berkeley in the fall. “I had a harsh high school life because of strict school rules. However, I overcame that through the pleasure of playing soccer. Through science books, I dreamt of the future,” the 22-year-old valedictorian said. “Dear fellow graduates, this is not just my story. This is our story. This is the story of perseverance -- written with the devotion of our professors, the love of our family, and the challenges we face and surmount at Bergen, home, and work. What does Bergen mean to us? Bergen is the first step toward our dreams.”

Mr. Moon told his fellow graduates that the College’s diverse student population, with students representing 169 countries, helped them learn “how to respect each other and different cultures. From our successful Haitian Relief (fundraising drive), we learned how valuable we are in the world. From the great achievement of the Bergen Bulldogs, our nationally ranked basketball team, we learned that we can be the best we can be. Yet dear fellow graduates, our own independence movement and our story are not yet done. Today, we have just finished the first chapter.”

Mr. Medina, the keynote speaker, is a lawyer, certified public accountant and licensed real estate broker whose government experience includes serving as New Jersey Secretary of Commerce and as a city councilman in the City of Camden. He also serves as chairman of the Bergen Community College at the Meadowlands Advisory Board.

Noting that concentrations of poverty and joblessness continue to have an impact on the social and economic fabric of America, Mr. Medina urged the graduates to strive to achieve goodness beyond their own success. “But I propose to you that prosperity can provide an even greater challenge to the human spirit than adversity,” the keynote speaker said. “Each of you has the opportunity to secure rewarding employment, and earn good incomes. Maybe some of you in the audience today will create a new technology or a new business model that will help transform all of our lives. But I believe that the greatest challenge facing each of us is not our technology; nor evolving business models; but our vision for shared prosperity in the world.” “The challenge is not just to strive to be outstanding professionals in your chosen fields; but to strive for true greatness, by becoming great human beings; by giving of yourself and by putting love in the giving. “Be Successful! Do well! And most importantly, do good,” Mr. Medina said.

Family and friends of the graduates filled the mezzanine of the Izod Center, frequently cheering as the graduates accepted their diplomas. The Class of 2010, which was 31 percent larger than the 2009 graduating class, included 555 Associate in Arts degrees, 1072 Associate in Science degrees, 486 graduates Associate in Applied Science degree, 38 students earned Certificates and 4 Certificates of Achievement.

Bergen Community College President Dr. G. Jeremiah Ryan commended the graduates for participating in the College’s Service Learning Program, in which students apply what they learn in the classroom to working with various community organizations. Saying that their experiences in Service Learning not only shape them as leaders but help shape the community, Dr. Ryan said that starting with the Class of 2010, participation in Service Learning will be noted on each student’s college transcript.

This year, more than 500 Bergen Community College students and 60 faculty members devoted more than 9,000 hours to helping social service organizations, government agencies, hospitals, schools and other organizations through Service Learning projects. Dr. Ryan noted the achievements of the Class of 2010, asking each group of graduates to stand as he gave the following facts:

• 43 students are receiving Academic Excellence Awards for achieving a perfect 4.0 grade point average.

• 20 students are graduating from the Honors Program.

• 111 students from the Class of 2010 were inducted into Phi Theta Kappa.

• 26 students are listed in Who’s Who in American Junior Colleges.

• 25 graduates who have received Educational Opportunity Fund grants garnered State Achievement Awards for attaining a 3.2 grade point average or higher.

Bergen Community College (www.bergen.edu) based in Paramus is a public two-year coeducational college, enrolling nearly 17,000 students at locations in Paramus, the Philip J. Ciarco Jr. Learning Center in Hackensack and Bergen Community College at the Meadowlands in Lyndhurst. The College offers associate degree, certificate and continuing education programs in a variety of fields.