MARIETTA — Shan Cooper encouraged Chattahoochee Technical College’s fall graduates to be responsible, resilient and reinvent themselves in their next steps to a professional career during graduation ceremonies Monday morning.

About 1,100 students earned diplomas and certificates from the technical college this fall, though fewer walked across the stage at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre. Of those graduating, 43 were honor graduates who completed their programs with at least a 4.0 grade point average.

Cooper, vice president and general manager of Lockheed Martin Aeronautics in Marietta, was the keynote speaker.

“Take full responsibility for your life and for your career, be willing and able to reinvent yourself and just be resilient,” she said. “Be intentional each day of your life. Don’t just think about checking your boxes, think in terms of the legacy that you’re building. … Don’t just wait for things to happen, you make them happen. Do these things and you’ll accomplish your mission, you’ll leave this world a better place. Your service and your example will touch the lives of others, multiplying your impact. Go get ’em!”

Shonterie Kennedy, 22, of Powder Springs, received her associates degree in criminal justice on Monday.

“I like helping people and I want to work with kids in the field like with Crimes Against Children,” she said.

Kennedy is now preparing to earn her bachelor’s degree in criminal justice online from Reinhardt College.

“I’m going to be working full-time and be a student,” she said. “It’s stressful at times because you don’t always think about doing the homework after a long day at work.”

However, Kennedy, who worked full-time at her family’s deli in the Threadmill Mall Complex in Austell while attending Chattahoochee Tech, also said she thought school was “pretty easy” but attributed that to her instructors.

“They work with you while working in the field, and they have a lot to offer … helping guide you through the courses,” she said. “I really like it. There’s a lot of diversity there, you meet a lot of people.”

She was joined at the celebration Monday by her family, including her twin sister who graduated from Chattahoochee Tech two years ago with her associate’s degree in technical communications.