A highlight of York Technical College’s annual Commencement ceremony is the recognition of several outstanding graduates with a special honor, the President’s Award for Students.

The award is presented to graduating students who have been selected by the faculty in their division for outstanding contributions to the College and the community. Scholastic excellence, service to the College and the community, perseverance and demonstration of positive attitudes are all key attributes of those nominated for this recognition.

The students who received the President’s Award in 2015 are: Brooke Bushue, Health and Human Services; Nathan Herlan, Industrial and Engineering Technologies; Hannah Wyatt (Arts and Sciences); and Jerome “Jerry” Rowland.

Rowland, who earned an Associate in Applied Science with a major in Accounting, was selected by the faculty to represent the Division of Business, Computers, Arts and Sciences.

Jerry Rowland

Hometown: Rialto, CA

Goal: To provide a comfortable life for my girlfriend and myself

Inspiration: The success of my older sister, as we have always had a very competitive but healthy relationship

Favorite quote: “Talent is cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work.” – Stephen King

The faculty members who nominated Rowland wrote the following:

Jerry is an excellent student in both the traditional and on-line classroom environments, maintaining a cumulative GPA of 4.0. He goes beyond the expectations of his instructors; always completing his assignments, coming to class prepared, and participating in class discussions. He is a student that leads by example and one that every instructor loves to see in their class! 

Jerry is driven and focused. Many of us know him by one of his many roles at the College. He currently serves as Treasurer of the honor society Phi Beta Lambda and is an integral part of the PBL leadership team. In addition, Jerry has been employed as a paid intern for a local CPA firm, during which he became certified for Zero, a cloud based accounting software. Furthermore, he worked a part-time job at a local restaurant. 

Jerry has a pleasant personality and generous demeanor. We are certain that he will continue to perform with the utmost professionalism in all his future endeavors.