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Mountain Gateway Community College will host Commencement Exercises on Friday, May 12, beginning at 7 pm in the Armory on the Clifton Forge campus. The featured speaker will be Dr. Devan Nicely of Lexington, who is being honored as this year’s recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Award. Student speaker will be Rachel Anne Madeline Reyns of Covington, a member of the 2023 MGCC graduating class.

Although this is the 56th such graduation ceremony for the College, founded in 1962 as the Covington-Clifton Forge Branch of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and later renamed Dabney S. Lancaster Community College when it joined the newly formed Virginia Community College System. The College was renamed in July of 2022 and this will be the first graduation ceremony as Mountain Gateway Community College.

MGCC will also host a Pinning Ceremony on Thursday, May 11, for both the Nursing and Practical Nursing graduates. That ceremony begins at 6 pm, also in the Armory. The featured speaker will be Deneen Davis, Nurse Manager at Carilion Rockbridge Community Hospital in Lexington.

Dr. Nicely, a native of Clifton Forge, is a veteran of the US Army and is currently Head Principal at Enderly Heights Elementary School in Buena Vista. Prior to joining the Buena Vista School Division, he was named Teacher of the Year in Roanoke City, where he was an instructor at the Noel C. Taylor Learning Academy, working with disadvantaged and at-risk youth. He then served as Assistant Principal at Mountain View Elementary School in Alleghany County for four years.

As an officer in the US Army, Dr. Nicely served tours in both Iraq and Afghanistan, earning the rank of captain, and also while in the service, he completed a state partnership mission in Tajikistan in 2011. He was recognized as a Hometown Hero by ALCVOA Mortgage in 2020 for his efforts abroad and in the local community.

Dr. Nicely holds extensive credentials in the field of education. After graduating from Alleghany High School in 2002, he earned Associate Degrees, from DSLCC/MGCC and later, also from Virginia Western Community College. He continued his education at Virginia Military Institute, where he majored in History and minored in English, while commissioning in the Virginia National Guard as a 2nd Lieutenant in Military Intelligence.

Following his stint in the military, he earned a Post Baccalaureate Teacher’s License from Mary Baldwin University, then Master’s Degrees in Executive Leadership and Administration and Supervision in Education from Liberty University. During this time he also earned a graduate certificate in American History from the American Military University, and from Liberty University, a Graduate General Business Certificate, and an Education Specialist Degree in Educational Leadership. His research focused on increasing educational outcomes for students at Mountain View Elementary. He also earned a Doctor of Education Degree at Liberty with the dissertation on Special Education in the general education classroom.

While attending DSLCC/MGCC, Dr. Nicely and fellow Alleghany classmate Josh Hagy co-published a fantasy novel, “Chaos Reborn: Volume 1 of the Chaos Chronicles,” in 2006. “One of my goals from an early age was to write a book and accomplishing that while still in college with my friend was a highlight of my life,” says Dr. Nicely.

“Devan has dedicated himself to education in academic and personal arenas at the highest levels and has distinguished himself as an educator and administrator,” said Hagy, one of two people who nominated Nicely for the Distinguished Alumni honor. DSLCC/MGCC was foundational not only to his career, but also for members of his family, several of whom are DSLCC/MGCC graduates, noted Hagy.

Dr. Nicely and his wife, Marie, a physician’s assistant, have three children, and they are active members of Lexington Baptist Church. Dr. Nicely serves on the board of Mainstreet Buena Vista. He is the son of Pam and Marion Nicely of Clifton Forge.

MGCC student speaker Rachel Reyns, a 2021 graduate of Covington High School, is earning an Associate Degree in General Studies from MGCC, where she has been a member of the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society. She plans to continue her education at James Madison University to pursue a degree in Sociology.

The public is invited to attend both ceremonies on May 11 and 12.

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This initiative is 100% supported by a federal U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) award made to Dabney S. Lancaster Community College by the pass-through entity, Virginia Community College System. The total program cost for this initiative is $47,000.