Tom Dowling
(863) 297-1051

Date/Place: Friday, Dec. 15, 6:30 p.m. Branscomb Auditorium at Florida Southern College, Lakeland 

Number of Grads: Approximately 500 students will be eligible to march. About 70 percent of our graduates will receive Associate in Arts (AA) degrees, which are parallel and transferable to state universities. The remaining 30 percent of the students will receive Associate in Science (AS) degrees, which lead directly to employment. 

Number of Degrees: Over 25,000 diplomas have been awarded by PCC since it began in 1964. More than half of PCC's graduates continue to live and work in Polk County.  

Commencement Speaker: JANUARY DENNISON, an electrical engineer and Fortune 500 company veteran, launched Technology Research Consultants (TRC) in 1998. The Haines City company focuses on logistic management and information technologies for flight avionics and along the way carved out a niche in obsolescence mitigation issues for the Department of Defense (DoD). 

January has since become a recognized strategist throughout DoD hardware market segments. She has been identified as an Army Material Command small business success story by the AMC Commanding General. Being a strategist, Dennison submitted her 8(a) application to SBA and was awarded the hard-to-get vendor status as a Woman-Owned, Small Disadvantaged Business. Her position as the owner of a vital business, a veteran and Hispanic, made her an attractive U.S. Government vendor. Proud of her 8(a) status, Dennison sees it as an opportunity, a strategy, to make it easier for the military to do business with TRC.

In 2003, TRC received its first corporate contract not only to design, but to manufacture and produce gyroscopes for Black Hawk helicopters. TRC needed more space, and finding a plant location translated into a move to Florida.

January Dennison has received numerous awards, including: SBA’s Florida Small Business Person of the Year (2006), Florida Small Businesswoman of the Year (2005) and Haines City, Florida’s Small Business Person of the Year (2004). She holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration and a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering and Mathematics both from the University of Alabama. She is a graduate of the General Electric Executive Leadership

Program and has a Master Black Belt Certification.

Distinguished Alumnus: TERESA MARTINEZ is the president of the Institute of Spanish Communication, a linguistic company providing Spanish translation, instruction and interpretation for companies like Avon, Marriott, Florida Machinery Corporation, Christian Dior, Estee Lauder, the Miss Universe Pageant, as well as numerous Central Florida attorneys. She also is the host of Comunidad Viva, a Spanish Talk Show on Polk Government Television (PGTV).

Teresa graduated from PCC in 1975 with an A.A. in Education. While working at an Orlando advertising agency she attended the University of Central Florida and earned her bachelor’s degree in Spanish in 1982.

She then taught Spanish at Lakeland High School for 11 years. In 1990, Teresa started her company. Working as on-camera interpreter at the Miss Universe TV broadcast was not only was one of the highlights of her career, but also opened the door to her PGTV show, which spotlights the local Hispanic community. Teresa serves as producer and host. She also helped start Vision Latina, The Ledger’s Hispanic newspaper.

She was selected as the International Individual of the Year (1997) by the Central Florida Development Council, and is among Who’s Who in American teachers. She was featured on the cover of the first issue of Vision Latina, and was among Lakeland Magazine’s feature on “6 Who Make Things Happen.” She received the Governor’s Point of Light Award this year and June 7, 2006 was proclaimed Teresa Martinez Day by the Polk County Commissioners.

Her service to PCC includes volunteering to serve on the recent presidential search steering committee, being the guest speaker at PCC’s first Hispanic Heritage Month program and several PGTV shows that have spotlighted PCC students, faculty and staff.

The Distinguished Alumnus Award is presented at each commence program to a graduate of PCC who has achieved professional success or made an outstanding contribution to the community.

Graduation Newsmakers:

MARIA LARREA, of Lakeland, is a native of Ecuador. She came to the United States with her family in 2002 and “fell in love with America.” She didn’t speak English and attended English for a Second Language classes at PCC for a year and mastered the language. She will graduate with an Associate in Arts degree in Liberal Arts. She’ll be heading back into the classroom working on an Associate in Science degree in Respiratory Therapy, “because I love to work with people, especially children,” she said. “I really like it at PCC. I like the small class size.”

Among the graduates will be a brother and sister pair: RICK and LISSETTE CORTES. Both of them are members of Phi Theta Kappa honor society and will graduate with honors. Rick will be getting his AA degree in Liberal Arts and plans to go to University of South Florida or University of Central Florida majoring in Information Technology. Lissette, who already earned an AA degree from PCC, will be receiving her AS degree in Nursing. They both live   in Winter Haven.