SCF grad shares story of battle with cancer at graduation
At just 21 years old, Goe Yang was taken to the hospital after fainting.
Yang, a first-generation college student, explained that doctors told her that if she had come much later, she wouldn’t have survived.
She had been diagnosed with leukemia.
Scared, nervous and unsure about what the future held for her, Yang went through chemotherapy. Though she was in remission, the cancer came back and had spread, requiring a bone marrow transplant.
Now, eight years later, she stood at the podium in front of more than 350 fellow State College of Florida Manatee-Sarasota graduates, speaking at their commencement ceremony. Yang encouraged her fellow graduates to keep moving forward and never give up.
“We have finally made it,” Yang said.
Those who walked across the stage of the Bradenton Area Convention Center in Palmetto on Friday night received their associate and bachelor degrees, along with certificates.
Juliana Arias was given the Outstanding Graduate Award for “showing superior leadership, academic achievement and community service” while attending SCF.
Before Friday’s commencement, a pinning ceremony was held for more than 60 nursing students.
Sara Nealeigh: 941-745-7081, @saranealeigh
State College of Florida Manatee-Sarasota
Graduates: 885 students were eligible to graduate
Speakers: SCF President Dr. Carol F. Probstfeld; 2016-17 Physical Therapist Assistant Club President Goe Yang; and Publisher of Observer Media Group Emily A. Walsh.
Shining moment: As the school celebrated its 60th anniversary, officials recognized 27 students who completed their entire secondary education at the Collegiate School, beginning as sixth-graders in 2010 when the school opened.
Interesting fact: Emily Walsh, publisher of the Observer Media Group, was a professional ballerina at a young age and told the crowd she earned her high school diploma in 1998 from the University of Nebraska with classmates that included Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Justin Timberlake and Michelle Kwan.
Best quote: “Build relationships face-to-face, not with 140-(character) tweets,” Walsh said.
This story was originally published May 5, 2017 at 9:10 PM with the headline "SCF grad shares story of battle with cancer at graduation."