Roxbury Community College is celebrating it’s 50th anniversary, kicking off events by discussing the lasting impact of the institution on students.

“If I hadn’t come to RCC, I wouldn’t have gotten to be that voice that I am for my kids, that I am for students,” said Monique Paul, a RCC graduate from the class of 2018, reflecting on her healthcare career and life since graduating. “I wouldn’t be where I am today.”

Paul was one of several alumni to speak at a panel in the RCC Media Arts Center on Thursday afternoon — echoing how the college changed their and generations of other students’ lives in the last 50 years.

The panel, moderated by state Sen. Dianne Wilkerson, kicked off three days of events marking the anniversary, including the commencement ceremony Friday and a block party, step show, film screening and hip-hop performances on campus Saturday.

Panelists praised the college for its accessibility and strong systems of support for students of all backgrounds — from a father from Haiti to a man just getting out of prison to a local mom working with patients with mental health and developmental disabilities. Because of the resources they gained at RCC, speakers said, they were able to achieve career goals they never considered from a Harvard doctorate to becoming the principal researcher at a innovative biomedical company to helping aid fellow former inmates.

The institution is set to become even more accessible through a new city program, joining several other local community colleges in becoming tuition free for Boston residents next year.

“This place is a real opportunity,” said 2016 RCC graduate Latifa Ali. “And I hope each and every one of you is thinking of someone you’re related to who can use this opportunity and go back to them and say, ‘Listen, I’ve got to tell you about this place.'”

In a release on the events, the school noted its history as a predominately Black school, reflected both in faculty and students, and its deep connection to the community — serving residents with everything from lifelong learning classes to worker training programs to events at the Reggie Lewis Center.

“Roxbury Community College is the center of hope for the community of Roxbury, Dorchester, Mattapan, Mission Hill, all those around it,” said Sen. Wilkerson at the panel. “l don’t think that we scream that from the rooftops enough.”