American International College (AIC) is proud to announce its 138th Commencement ceremony, on Saturday, May 13, 2023, at 10 a.m. at the Mass Mutual Center. AIC President Hubert Benitez, DDS, PhD, who recently marked his first anniversary at the College, will preside over the ceremony.

The Honorable Richard E. Neal, United States Representative from Massachusetts' First Congressional District, will deliver the Commencement address to undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral recipients in the Class of 2023.

Congressman Neal, born in Worcester, Massachusetts, and raised and educated in Springfield, is an AIC alumnus. He graduated from the College in 1972 and was later awarded an honorary degree in 1990. The congressman, who holds the position of dean of the Massachusetts Delegation and the New England Congressional Delegation, currently serves as the Ranking Member of the House Ways and Means Committee. Additionally, he serves as an At-Large Whip for the House Democrats and is the Democratic Leader of the Friends of Ireland Caucus.

Congressman Neal is a renowned guest lecturer at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst and a National Trustee of the John F. Kennedy Library in Boston. Before his time in Congress, Neal had a successful career as a high school teacher, a member of the Springfield City Council, and the Mayor of the City of Springfield from 1984 to 1988.

During the Commencement ceremony, retired NBA star and Springfield native Travis Eric Best will receive an honorary degree from AIC. Best will be awarded an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters in recognition of his distinguished humanitarian and philanthropic contributions to society.

Best is being honored for his work as the founder of the Travis Best Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that teaches youth how to utilize the academic and life resources that sports, arts, and education afford through sportsmanship training, music, and visual art workshops. Since 2008, the Travis Best Foundation has been working to develop new community initiatives to support young citizens living in Springfield, MA.

Born and raised in Springfield, Best was a star on the basketball teams at Central High School and was a three-time winner of the John "Honey" Lahovich Award, which honors the most outstanding high school boys' basketball player in western Massachusetts. During his senior year, Best scored a state-record eighty-one points in a single game, leading his 25-0 team to the 1991 Division 1 state championship and a No. 15 ranking in the final USA Today Top 25. Best also participated in the 1991 McDonald's Capital Classic as a member of the "US All-Stars," and was named a Parade All-American.

While a student at Georgia Tech, Best teamed up with fellow McDonald's All-American James Forrest for four years as one-half of a potent inside-outside combo in the always-competitive Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). Best helped lead the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets to the 1993 ACC Tournament Championship. Excelling as one of the league's premier players, he was named to the All-ACC third team as a sophomore and earned second-team honors as both a junior and senior. In 2010, Best was inducted into the Georgia Tech Athletic Hall of Fame, and in 2014, he was inducted into the ACC Men's Basketball Legends Class.

Best was drafted twenty-third in the 1995 NBA draft by the Indiana Pacers. Also in the NBA, he played for the Chicago Bulls, the Miami Heat, the Dallas Mavericks, and the New Jersey Nets, averaging 7.6 points and 3.5 assists per game. One of his defining moments was hitting the game and series-ending shot against the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round of the 2000 NBA Playoffs, which ultimately propelled the Pacers to their first and only NBA Finals appearance. Off the court, Best honed his acting talents in the role of Sip in Spike Lee's 1998 sports film classic, "He Got Game."

Best has recently been appointed as an advisor to The IntersXtion Fund, which seeks the best emerging and disruptive financial technologies revolutionizing sports, media, and entertainment. He also advises an all-digital banking platform, Cypher Limited, which empowers all individuals and businesses with the knowledge, skills, and resources needed to grow wealth, creating prosperity and financial inclusion.