American International College will celebrate its 137th commencement on Saturday, May 7 at 10 a.m., at the MassMutual Center in Springfield, with President Hubert Benitez presiding. Benitez takes the helm as the college’s twelfth president on April 11. The board of trustees unanimously selected Benitez to lead the institution in February.

International Swimming Hall of Fame inductee and AIC alumna Marcella MacDonald will deliver the commencement address to graduate and undergraduate students and receive an honorary degree from the college. MacDonald, who graduated from AIC in 1985, will receive an honorary doctor of laws, honoris causa, awarded for outstanding achievement.

MacDonald graduated with a bachelor’s degree from American International College in 1985. While attending AIC, she credits now-retired Coach Judy Groff with welcoming her to the college that eventually led to her becoming a softball All-Conference student-athlete and an All-American honorable mention her senior year. Following completion of her undergraduate studies, MacDonald attended New York College of Podiatric Medicine in New York City, graduating with a doctoral degree.

While attending to a successful podiatric practice spanning more than thirty years that focuses on caring for the senior population, MacDonald has likewise achieved monumental athletic success. In 1994, she was inducted into the Manchester Sports Hall of Fame for softball in her hometown of Manchester, Conn. In 2005, she was inducted into the AIC Athletics Hall of Fame, also for softball. Most recently, in 2019, she was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Full story is available in BusinessWest and Healthcare News.