Street Named for Bunker Hill Community College Graduate Killed in Afghanistan
Friday, August 5, 2011
Governor Deval L. Patrick has signed legislation to name a street in Salem, Massachusetts, in honor of a Bunker Hill Community College alumnus killed in action in Afghanistan. James A. Ayube, a Salem resident, graduated from Bunker Hill Community College in 2007 with an associate degree in sociology.
Sergeant Ayube, a U.S. Army medic, was killed by a suicide bomber during a combat mission on December 8, 2010. The street, Sergeant James Ayube Memorial Drive, will commemorate Sergeant Ayube’s service to the nation. Ayube, 25, was the recipient of a Bronze Star and Purple Heart. He had served previously in the Iraq War.
Lloyd Sheldon Johnson, a professor in the Behavioral Science Department at the College, remembered Ayube as “a wonderful and sensitive student who had a focus and a force that were infectious.”
Bunker Hill Community College currently enrolls more than 400 veterans of the U.S. armed forces. The College offers a seminar geared to the concerns of veterans, and has recently opened a Veterans Center to help student veterans with GI Bill benefits, academics and health services.
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About Bunker Hill Community College
With more than 50 years of academic excellence, Bunker Hill Community College (BHCC) is Massachusetts' largest community college, annually welcoming a diverse community of around 16,000 students. With campuses in Charlestown and Chelsea, BHCC extends its reach across several locations in Greater Boston. The College offers associate degrees and certificates, early college and dual enrollment, community education, corporate training, and industry-specific training programs. BHCC is celebrated for its diversity, boasting a student body where 65% identify as people of color and more than half are women. The College also embraces a global perspective, with over 600 international students representing 90 countries and conversing in more than 65 languages. Our commitment to diversity is further reflected in BHCC's designation as a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) and an Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institution (AANAPISI).