Pictured, from left, are Andrew Mevis, Brandon Bradley, Miguel Juarez Cervantes, Ethan Miller, Jacob Bradley, Bishop Harrison, John McGurn, Roger Fitzpatrick, Kevin Dailey, Instructor Dann Adkins and Larry Hollar (Not pictured is Craig Ronk).

WARSAW — At last week’s North Central commencement of Ivy Tech Community College, the Warsaw campus’ Orthopedic and Advanced Manufacturing Training Center and the Warsaw Area Career Center celebrated the graduating class of its first college-base high school dual credit.

The group comprised of 11 students ─ three seniors, eight juniors ─ completing the program and earning an Ivy Tech Certificate in Machine Tool Technology in front of family and friends at Purcell Pavilion at the University of Notre Dame’s Joyce Center. The WACC is made up of students from Tippecanoe Valley, Warsaw and Whitko high schools. The 2016-17 program was funded by generous contributions from local businesses and the Kosciusko County Community Foundation.

There were a total of 170 students who received a degree or certificate, a tremendous and encouraging spike from the previous year’s grand total of 11, among the three campuses.