{"id":75654,"date":"2026-05-30T00:24:55","date_gmt":"2026-05-30T04:24:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/?p=75654"},"modified":"2026-05-30T00:24:55","modified_gmt":"2026-05-30T04:24:55","slug":"batavia-arc-glow-ignite-holds-first-commencement-ceremony","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/index.php\/2026\/05\/30\/batavia-arc-glow-ignite-holds-first-commencement-ceremony\/","title":{"rendered":"BATAVIA\/Arc GLOW IGNITE holds first commencement ceremony"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Press release<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BATAVIA \u2014 For graduating seniors, Thursday, May 14 marked the end of one chapter of their lives and the start of another. For Arc GLOW, the commencement ceremony held at Genesee Community College (GCC) marked the first graduation for the Genesee IGNITE program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDid you know that over 30 percent of students choose to leave college before graduating? Most students drop out because of a series of different reasons,\u201d said Katrina Pragle, one of the four graduating seniors in the inaugural class. \u201cTalking from experience, the roughest time was my first semester in college. \u2026 My mom helped me find the IGNITE program, so I wanted to thank her for all she did to get me into the program. I also wanted to thank all the staff members who helped me reach my goals.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Standing for \u201cInspiring Growth & Nurturing Independence Through Education,\u201d the Genesee IGNITE program, in partnership with GCC, is the second college experience program for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) run by Arc GLOW, following in the footsteps of the LIVES program (Learning, Independence, Vocational and Educational Skills) which has partnered with SUNY Geneseo. LIVES, now in its 16th year, also held its graduation ceremony for its four graduating seniors Thursday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The idea of the program dates back to Feb. 23, 2024 in an e-mail between Timothy Tomczak, dean of liberal arts and sciences at GCC, and the late Dawn Scott, who ran the LIVES program for Arc GLOW. Tomczak said GCC was very excited about the proposed partnership because it aligned closely with the college\u2019s mission, vision, values and strategic priorities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then in the first year the inaugural class consisting of Larry Anderson, Dan Barcomb, Katrina Pragle and Jackson Tuohey joined the GCC campus, taking classes taught by the Arc GLOW staff, auditing GCC courses and engaging with the campus community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s very fitting we\u2019ve gathered here in the Stuart Steiner Theatre, the heart of our campus where so many ceremonies, awards presentations and special events have taken place,\u201d said Tomczak.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEach graduate began this journey with unique hopes, goals and dreams for the future,\u201d said Kelly Anstey, Arc GLOW senior director of day and employment services. \u201cFor some, those dreams were clear from the beginning. For others, they developed along the way. What matters most is that every student arrived with courage, determination, and a willingness to try, and that is where every meaningful journey begins.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Students interested in joining a college experience through Arc GLOW should visit ArcGLOW.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arc GLOW is a public non-profit supporting people with intellectual and developmental disabilities in Genesee, Livingston, Orleans and Wyoming counties.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Press release BATAVIA \u2014 For graduating seniors, Thursday, May 14 marked the end of one chapter of their lives and the start of another. For Arc GLOW, the commencement ceremony held at Genesee Community College (GCC) marked the first graduation for the Genesee IGNITE program. \u201cDid you know that over \u2026<\/p>\n

Continue reading<\/i><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":75655,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[8,23],"tags":[5839],"class_list":["post-75654","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-batavia","category-genesee-county","tag-arc-glow-ignite"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8eTP4-jGe","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":56918,"url":"https:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/index.php\/2024\/09\/13\/genesee-county-arc-glow-ignites-a-new-initiative-at-gcc\/","url_meta":{"origin":75654,"position":0},"title":"GENESEE COUNTY\/Arc GLOW IGNITEs a new initiative at GCC","author":"aka","date":"September 13, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Kevin Fisher, direct support professional (DSP), teaches the LIVES students about auditory learning as Dan Crofts, DSP, and Kelly Anstey, senior director of Day and Employment Services, look on Press release\/provided photos BATAVIA \u2014 IGNITE took off at the Genesee Community College (GCC) campus in Batavia! Mirroring the LIVES college\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Genesee County"","block_context":{"text":"Genesee County","link":"https:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/index.php\/category\/genesee-county\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/IGNITE-TEAM-PHOTO.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/IGNITE-TEAM-PHOTO.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/IGNITE-TEAM-PHOTO.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/IGNITE-TEAM-PHOTO.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":52304,"url":"https:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/index.php\/2024\/04\/11\/15-years-of-helping-lives\/","url_meta":{"origin":75654,"position":1},"title":"15 years of helping LIVES","author":"aka","date":"April 11, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Pictured from left to right, members of Arc GLOW who are a big part of the LIVES program: Vice President of Day and Employment Services Kellie Kennedy, Habilitation and LIVES Coordinator Dawn Scott, Director of Community Prevocational Services Erika Forbes, and Senior Director of Day & Employment Services Judy Welch.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"ArcGLOW\"","block_context":{"text":"ArcGLOW","link":"https:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/index.php\/tag\/arcglow\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/LIVES-3-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/LIVES-3-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/LIVES-3-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/LIVES-3-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/LIVES-3-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":81229,"url":"https:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/index.php\/2026\/09\/16\/glow-dan-crofts-wins-2026-thomas-a-maul-direct-support-professional-excellence-award\/","url_meta":{"origin":75654,"position":2},"title":"GLOW\/Dan Crofts wins 2026 Thomas A. Maul Direct Support Professional Excellence Award","author":"aka","date":"September 16, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Press release\/provided photo For over 15 years, Dan Crofts has worked as a direct support professional for Arc GLOW. Today, he can be found within the IGNITE (Inspiring Growth and Nurturing Independence Through Education) program at Genesee Community College (GCC). In this role, he supports people with intellectual and developmental\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "GLOW region"","block_context":{"text":"GLOW region","link":"https:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/index.php\/category\/glow-region\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Dan-Crofts-1.jpeg?fit=1195%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Dan-Crofts-1.jpeg?fit=1195%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Dan-Crofts-1.jpeg?fit=1195%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Dan-Crofts-1.jpeg?fit=1195%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Dan-Crofts-1.jpeg?fit=1195%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":61529,"url":"https:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/index.php\/2025\/02\/02\/genesee-county-arc-glow-receives-grant-from-batavia-rotary\/","url_meta":{"origin":75654,"position":3},"title":"GENESEE COUNTY\/Arc GLOW receives grant from Batavia Rotary","author":"aka","date":"February 2, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Press release\/provided photos Thanks to the generous support of the Rotary Club of Batavia, Arc GLOW was able to purchase necessary equipment for the Genesee County Meals on Wheels program. 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