ELLISVILLE – Nearly 590 of the more than 630 students eligible to graduate are participating in the 96th annual Commencement Ceremony at Jones College. Graduates and guests will hear from Stan Buckley, the Founder and Executive Director of But God Ministries as the keynote speaker for graduation held on Friday, May 3, at 10 a.m. The ceremony will be held on the North Lawn of Jones Hall with plans to move the event to the A.B. Howard/Bobcat Gymnasium if there is inclement weather. (Bad Weather Plan: Two ceremonies will be held if there is rain with one at 10 a.m. and the next ceremony at 1:30 p.m. Students will be divided by last names with the last names A-L attending the 10 a.m. ceremony and M-Z attending the 1:30 p.m. ceremony.)
This ceremony will also mark the second class of the new Middle College Program at Laurel High School with eight students earning both their high school diploma and an associate degree from Jones College. These students, Sayuri Majae Barnes, De’Ja Dashawna Baskin, Brianna Evans, Justin Keys, Lamiya Janae Ross, Kena Monique Smith (also JC Hall of Fame) Nia Soul Stephens, and Krishna M. Wright, finished their high school requirements simultaneously while attending college courses to complete a two-year degree.
Seating will be first come first serve with a large crowd expected to support graduates participating in the ceremony. Graduates will receive either an associate in arts degree, associate in applied science degree, a technical certificate, or a career certificate. To watch the ceremony live, check the website, http://www.jcjc.edu/ For questions specifically regarding the 2024 graduation ceremony, please contact Kacie Birdsong at 601-477-4137.
The keynote speaker, Stan Buckley will share about the non-profit organization BGM, that he established, which seeks to build sustainable communities around the world. Currently, BGM is working in the country of Haiti and in the Mississippi Delta. In Haiti, they have four medical clinics, a dental clinic, seven schools with over 2,000 students who are educated and fed daily, two churches, 176 employees, and over 300 houses they have built.
In the Mississippi Delta, But God Ministries have established a school, a medical clinic, a dental clinic, an Economic Development Center, a baseball/softball complex in partnership with Major League Baseball and the Players Association, and 13 employees. BGM hosts several hundred people on mission trips each year. Stan has degrees from the University of Southern Mississippi, Mississippi College School of Law, and New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. He practiced law in Hattiesburg, MS for four years before becoming a pastor in 1995. He served as Senior Pastor in three churches over the course of 16 years until he started BGM in 2011. Stan has been married to Jewell since 1989, and they have twin sons (1993), a daughter (1996), and a daughter-in-law. Stan is the author of seven books.