Over 600 students are part of NHTI-Concord’s Community College’s Class of 2025. The 75^th commencement ceremony on May 16 will recognize graduates in associate degree and professional certificate programs.

Students will represent diverse academic disciplines, including early childhood education, software development, criminal justice, carpentry, and nursing. “The day will be the launching pad for many meaningful and fruitful careers in the city, the state, and the nation thanks to the instruction and training received here,” said City of Concord Mayor Byron Champlin.

Mayor Champlin will deliver the keynote address. “I’m deeply honored to speak to NHTI’s graduating class at its 2025 Commencement. NHTI-Concord’s Community College is one of the most important educational institutions to call Concord home,” said Champlin.

The ceremony will also feature remarks from faculty speaker, Keith Wilding, department chair of NHTI’s Paramedic Emergency Medicine Program. “Teaching is a bliss,” said Wilding, who has been teaching at NHTI since 2010. He noted the extraordinary dedication of his students, most of whom work full-time while enrolled. “One of my students works 72 hours straight and then goes to class just hours later,” he said.

 “My teaching style is parenting. I’m always supportive, but there’s strictness and expectations,” said Wilding. “Most of them, when they want to poke fun at me, call me dad.” Wilding uses this approach because the Paramedic Emergency Medicine Program prepares students for a high-pressure healthcare environment. “At any given moment in time, we could be handed a baby that needs emergency care,” said Wilding.

Cylan “CJ” Gosselin, a 2025 graduate of the Paramedic Emergency Medicine Program, agreed. “This program has been one of the hardest experiences I’ve ever been through,” he said, but explained how the rigorous journey has prepared him to pursue his passion. After serving in the US Army for five years, Gosselin found himself lost and uncertain where to direct his career. He discovered firefighting and EMS work, which led him to the program at NHTI where “everything just made sense.”

“I just want to help people to the best of my ability,” said Gosselin, who will share his inspiring story with his fellow classmates as the Class of 2025 student speaker.

As NHTI’s 2025 graduates cross the stage, they mark not only the completion of their academic programs but important next steps in their professional careers. Learn more about NHTI’s diverse offering of 80+ associate degree and workforce education programs at nhti.edu.

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City of Concord Major, Byron Champlin, will deliver the keynote address at NHTI’s 75^th commencement ceremony.

About NHTI-Concord’s Community College

NHTI is a dynamic public institution of higher learning that provides accessible, rigorous education for students, businesses, and the community. We create pathways for lifelong learning, career advancement, and civic engagement, offering 80+ academic programs to 4,600+ students annually. NHTI is a member of the Community College System of New Hampshire and since 1969 has been accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education, a nongovernmental, nationally recognized accrediting agency.