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CodeCrew founder Meka Egwuekwe to address Southwest Tennessee Community College Class of 2022 graduates May 21

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For more information, contact: Diana Fedinec, Director of Public Relations and Media, (901) 333-4247, dfedinec@southwest.tn.edu.

(MEMPHIS, Tenn.) - Southwest Tennessee Community College celebrates the Class of 2022 at its twenty-fourth commencement ceremony at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, May 21 at the Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium, 335 S. Hollywood St. in Memphis, Tenn.

“We are thrilled to be back in person to celebrate the academic achievements of our students at the beautiful Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium,” said Southwest President Tracy D. Hall.  "This class pushed through the pandemic to see this day. This is a momentous occasion for all our graduates, their friends and families and for faculty and staff who supported them along the way.”

Southwest moved its commencement to an outdoor ceremony at the stadium last year from a virtual ceremony the prior year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Meka Egwuekwe, co-founder and executive director of CodeCrew, a Memphis-based non-profit that specializes in youth computer science education, will deliver this year’s commencement address. Egwuekwe has over 19 years of experience in software development.  Prior to founding CodeCrew, he served as director of software development at Lokion Interactive. Egwuekwe earned a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Science in Computer Science from Morehouse College and Duke University, respectively.

Southwest graduate Connor Taylor, a psychology major with an emphasis in pre-med and president of Southwest’s chapter of Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society, will address his fellow classmates as this year’s student speaker. Taylor plans to further his education at Mississippi College and earn a Doctor of Medicine.

Each year the College recognizes two outstanding individuals for Faculty of the Year and Alumnus of the Year during commencement. This year’s faculty award recipient is Joanitha Barnes, department chair and associate professor of education, criminal justice and human services.

Alumnus of the Year is State Technical Institute at Memphis Class of 1985 member and retired Southwest Interim Director of Advising Ronald Claxton.

The ceremony also will be livestreamed on the College’s Facebook page at @SouthwestTN and the Southwest Tennessee Community College YouTube channel.  The event rain date is May 22 at 9:30 a.m.  Additional graduation details can be found on the College’s website at www.southwest.tn.edu.