SMCC Commencement 2026
SMCC celebrated its 79th Commencement Ceremony on Sunday, May 17 at the Cross Insurance Arena in Portland, honoring one of the largest graduating classes in College history. The day brought together graduates, families, friends, faculty and staff to recognize the hard work and achievements of the Class of 2026.
The ceremony featured remarks from SMCC President Kristen Miller, Maine Community College System President David Daigler, Student of the Year Kamy Dube and distinguished commencement speaker Monica Wood. Speakers celebrated the graduates’ perseverance, sense of community and the many paths they will take next.
This year’s class included 1,208 students receiving 1,275 degrees and certificates. Graduates represented every county in Maine, states across the country and countries around the world. They now leave SMCC prepared to continue their education, enter the workforce and strengthen communities in Maine and beyond.
If you were unable to attend, watch the replay of the ceremony on SMCC’s YouTube page at www.youtube.com/smccme. You can also see photos from the celebration on our Flickr account at https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjCU4m1.
About the Commencement Speaker:
Monica Wood is an award-winning novelist, memoirist and playwright whose work has received numerous literary honors. Her bestselling novel How to Read a Book was named to the Texas Library Association’s “Lariat List” of the 25 best books of 2025 and received the New England Society in the City of New York Book Award for fiction. She is also the author of the internationally acclaimed novel The One-in-a-Million Boy and the memoir When We Were the Kennedys, a New England bestseller and winner of the May Sarton Memoir Award.
Her writing has appeared in publications including The New York Times, Oprah, Literary Hub and Down East. In addition to her books, Wood is an accomplished playwright whose works Papermaker, The Half-Light and Saint Dad debuted at Portland Stage before being produced elsewhere in the country. A native of Mexico, Maine, she lives in Portland with her husband, Dan Abbott, a longtime SMCC professor and program chair.