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April 24, 2026
By: Janine Wine
Communications and Marketing Coordinator
TCAT Dickson
Dickson, TN: TCAT Dickson President Laura Travis conferred more than sixty diplomas and technical certificates during spring commencement April 21, for Dickson and Williamson campus graduates.
Wyatt Chocklett, Chief Executive Officer for TriStar Horizon Medical Center, served as guest speaker for the ceremony. “Today, it’s okay if you don’t have your entire future picked out. At the end of the day, your success isn’t going to be marked by leaps and bounds, it’s going to be marked by incremental changes,” Chocklett said.
Chocklett advised graduates to stay adaptive as they navigate their careers and to pay attention to relationships and connections they make. “Everything we do is predicated on relationships.” He said.
Chocklett shared that his favorite quote was from Jim Valvano – the late North Carolina State basketball coach who passed away from cancer. “Don’t give up. Don’t ever give up. – Jim Valvano. That is easily the most valuable quote I’ve ever heard in my life,” Chocklett said.
Graduate A’Donnious Sparkman led the Pledge of Allegiance and Creek Wood High School JROTC Color Guard presented colors.
Graduates receiving third party certifications were recognized. Those students were from Automotive Technology - Arturo Samuel Avitia, Dawson Huggins, and Jacob Sherwood; Building Construction Technology – Adrian Rogers; Dental Assisting – Emma Carrera, Jayden Mya Cruz, Alley England, Addyson Faith Frazier, Alexis Briona Hinton, Neely Kate Little, Isabella Grace MacKinnon, Courtney Penn, Alana Renee Brook Reich, and Guadalupe Valle Garcia; Digital Graphic Design – Thomas Long, and Issac Allen; Heating Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration – Elijah Mangrum, Jamie McCullen, Jorge Perez, Peyton James Potts, Jacob Westcott, Tyler Harrington, and Bret Scarborough; Industrial Electrical Maintenance / Mechatronics – Justin Blystad; Mechatronics Multicraft Tech – Mateo Batchelder.
National Technical Honor Society (NTHS) Inductees were applauded for their achievements. To be inducted into NTHS students must maintain an “A” average, attend at least 95 percent of their total program hours, and be nominated by their instructors. Graduates with the NTHS distinction were Neely Kate Little, Isabella Grace MacKinnon, and Guadalupe Valle Garcia – Dental Assisting; Kelly Halford – Practical Nursing; Summer Alexis Fountain – Cosmetology; Justin Blystad – Industrial Electrical Maintenance / Mechatronics; and Marcus Shayne Lovell – Off-Road Diesel Technology.
President Travis conferred diplomas and technical certificates for the following students: from Building Construction Technology – Alex Riley and Adrian Rogers; Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration – Tyler Harrington, Elijah Mangrum, Jamie McCullen with honors, Jorge Perez, Peyton James Potts, Bret Scarborough, and Jacob Westcott with honors; Computer-Aided Design Technology – Emerson Wittstruck with honors plus; Dental Assisting – Emma Carrera with honors, Jayden Mya Cruz with honors plus, Alley England with honors, Addyson Faith Frazier with honors, Alexis Briona Hinton with honors, Neely Kate Little with honors, Isabella Grace MacKinnon with honors, Courtney Penn with honors plus, Alana Renee Brook Reich with honors plus, and Guadalupe Valle Garcia with honors plus; Practical Nursing – Luz Alcaraz, LaToya Clay, Kira Dawson, Harley Downs, Jessica Lynn Fisher, Ebony Slade Greene, Kelly Halford with honors plus, Aaliyah Helm, Clara Jenkins, Nalani Jones, Sarah Logan, Taylor McLaughlin, Roberta Monteiro with honors, Alexis Prayer, Maleah Risby, MJ Schmittou, A’Donnious Sparkman, Jacob Stiddum, Morgan Denae Thornton, Kiarah “Kay-Kay” Wells, Raylene Williams, and Kiana Yockey; Cosmetology – Gracie Bowen with honors, Jaycee Aleana Clifton with honors, Grace Colley with honors, and Summer Alexis Fountain with honors; Computer Information Technology – Nacoma Lee Lester; Industrial Electrical Maintenance / Mechatronics – Justin Blystad with honors plus; Mechatronics Multicraft Tech – Mateo Batchelder with honors; Welding Technology – Wyatt Beerman, Karin Cathey with honors, and Landon Rose with honors; Automotive Technology – Arturo Samuel Avitia, Joel Borras, Dawson Huggins, Jacob Sherwood, and Sophia Thompson; Diesel Powered Equipment Technology – Brayden Bellamy, and Brayden Davis; Off-Road Diesel Technology – Marcus Shayne Lovell; Digital Graphic Design – Issac Allen with honors plus, and Thomas Long.
Students graduating with honors earned a 3.72 – 3.99 grade point average while those graduating with honors plus earned a perfect 4.0 grade point average.
The class of spring 2026 included five veterans and eight first generation college graduates representing fourteen of the fifteen programs offered across the Dickson and Williamson campuses.
Dickson’s hometown college since 1964, TCAT now has campus locations in Dickson, Clarksville, and Franklin with plans to open a new campus location in Houston County this fall. TCAT Dickson primarily serves students in Dickson, Montgomery, Cheatham, Stewart, Houston, Humphreys, Hickman, and Williamson counties in addition to neighboring communities and Kentucky residents.
TCAT Dickson is a Tennessee Board of Regents institution, is accredited by the Council on Occupational Education, and complies with non-discrimination laws: Title VI, Title IX, Section 504, and ADA. Located on Highway 46 in Dickson, the technical training college also has extension campuses in Clarksville, and Franklin. Additional information about the school is located at www.TCATDickson.edu
