Red Bank’s David Prown will receive an honorary degree from Brookdale Community College for his contributions to the local community during BCC’s commencement ceremony. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
Based on a press release from Brookdale Community College.
Two Monmouth County activists, two distinguished alumni and more than 2,000 local students will be honored during the 45th annual commencement ceremony at Brookdale Community College, scheduled for May 10 15 on the Lincroft campus.
Commencement speakers David Prown and David Goldman will receive honorary degrees from the college for their contributions to the Monmouth County community.
More than 2,000 students are set to graduate on May 10. (Click to enlarge)
Prown, of Red Bank, is the owner and manager of Prown’s Home Improvements, a third-generation family business serving Monmouth County. He has built a reputation as a staunch children’s advocate by working directly with local students of color and spearheading a wide range of youth service programs in the Red Bank area. Prown’s initiatives include a mentorship program, established in 2009, between students at Brookdale and Red Bank Regional High School, as well as the annual Red Kettle Classic Basketball Tournament in partnership with the Salvation Army.
Goldman, an Ocean Township native and current Holmdel resident, is the cofounder and director of the Bring Sean Home Foundation. The foundation began as a grass roots effort to bring home Goldman’s son Sean, who was abducted by his mother and taken to Brazil in 2004.
Since Sean was reunited with his father on Christmas Eve 2009, Goldman and the foundation have become prominent advocates for victims of parental child abduction. Goldman has testified on the issue at multiple congressional hearings, pushing for passage of the Sean and David Goldman International Child Abduction Prevention and Return Act. The bill was signed into law by President Barack Obama in August 2014.
College officials will also present Distinguished Alumni Awards to Superior Court Judge Teresa Kondrup Coyle and Brookdale women’s soccer coach Katelyn Miller.
A total of 2,069 students will be graduating from Brookdale this year, with diplomas handed out during 10 am and 3 pm ceremonies inside BCC’s Robert J. Collins Arena.
Six graduates from Manasquan, Freehold, Matawan, Howell and Jackson will receive the college’s 2014-15 Outstanding Student Award.
Tickets are required to attend the ceremony. Those without tickets can watch a live simulcast in Brookdale’s Warner Student Life Center, with parking in lots 6 and 7. For more information visit www.brookdalecc.edu or call the Office of Student Life and Activities at (732) 224-2788.