NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release – May 27, 2015

Peter Branche of Seaford Valedictorian of the Class

of 2015 at Nassau Community College 

Garden City, NY – Peter Branche of Seaford is the Nassau Community College valedictorian of the class of 2015. He's also president of the NCC Phi Theta Kappa chapter and a SUNY Chancellor's Award winner for academic excellence with a 4.0 grade point average. (download hi res photo)Branche is a graduate of St. Anthony's High School. After attending St. Bonaventure University in Albany for a time, he came back to Long Island for family reasons. He applied to Nassau Community College and was encouraged when he began his classes. "My classes were challenging. The professors were tough," he said. Branche was especially pleased that many of his professors had current real-world experience in the subjects they taught.A sophomore senator in the College's Student Government Association in addition to his participation in Phi Theta Kappa, Branche believes that other students should take advantage of the opportunities available on campus outside the classroom. According to him, "It's all part of the college experience."Branche also enjoyed the diversity he was exposed to at the College. "I had some life experiences here that I wouldn't have had at other schools and that's something I can take with me wherever I go in the future," he said.Branche's career plans are to become a college professor in economics. Among the four-year colleges in which he is interested are Johns Hopkins University and Stony Brook University.

Alicia Steger 516.572.9634 alicia.steger@ncc.edu ncc.edu/newsreleases

Ref: 1824.5/27/15/6 About Nassau Community College Nassau Community College, part of the State University of New York, is an institution where nearly 22,000 full- and part-time students and approximately 10,000 continuing and professional students start and continue their successful journey through higher education. More than 70 fields of study are offered on a 225-acre campus located in the center of Long Island. As the largest single-campus two-year college in New York State, Nassau Community College maintains a national reputation for excellence.