More than 3,000 people reached a major milestone in their lives Thursday as Kingsborough Community College held its commencement ceremony.

News 12 spoke with several graduates who said they had to overcome much adversity to realize Thursday’s graduation ceremony.

Latia Davis, 37, first enrolled at Kingsborough Community College in 2001. Her initial obstacle in getting her degree was her job, and then she was diagnosed with both Hodgkin’s lymphoma and leukemia.

"I came back to school last year…and unfortunately that is when I found out that I had relapsed with my Hodgkin’s,” said Davis. “I had surgery and still was in school and still made it through.”

Another student, Yasmeen Hayes, is the first person in her family to go to college.

"Several mental breakdowns later, I am graduating…especially coming from a teen mom, a single mom at that, this is something kind of big for my family," said Hayes.

Kingsborough Community College was recently named a top 10 community college in the nation by the Aspen Institute.