LEWISTON — Ten years ago, the future did not look bright for Scott McClelland.

A recovering alcoholic, he had found himself homeless after a breakup with a girlfriend. He was a high school dropout in his mid-40s and he had no place to go. No prospects. No real hope for a future.

What a difference a decade makes.

McClelland, now 56, was one of more than 500 people to graduate Thursday night from Central Maine Community College. So compelling is his comeback story, the Greene man was named this year’s recipient of the school’s “Against all Odds” Award.

“I feel so good,” he said. “So excited. But I also feel anxious. There’s something coming to an end — a separation.”

The 500-plus who graduated Thursday night did so in a variety of fields, including nursing, arts, science, business administration, restaurant management, automotive technology and criminal justice.

“We’re proud to have had a hand in changing so many lives for the better,” said Roger G. Philippon, CMCC’s dean of planning and public affairs.

Luke Livingston, founder and president of Baxter Brewing in Lewiston, advised the graduates to take their best swings — and to not fear occasional failures — whether they were staging comebacks or just starting out.

“You will swing and miss,” Livingston told the packed house at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee. “You may even strike out. Success does not exist without the risk of failure.”

Livingston began planning his brewery business about the same time his mother was battling breast cancer. He was inspired by her courage, Livingston said.

Two years after his mother died in 2009, he founded Baxter Brewing, which became the first brewery in the United States to brew 5,000 barrels of beer in its first year. It now employs nearly 40 people and sells beer in eight states.

“I am the creator of something I never saw coming the day I lost my mom,” Livingston told the graduates. “But here I am, an entrepreneur. I am a dreamer and doer. I am up to bat.”

Scott Hess, a 20-year-old from Lisbon, graduated Thursday night with high honors and a degree in precision machining. When he first began at CMCC, he said, he had no idea what he wanted to do with his life. But a local machine company had offered him a full scholarship in exchange for a promise that Hess would work at the company for at least two years.

“At first I had no idea if this is what I wanted to do,” Hess said. “But I ended up enjoying it and I enjoy the company I work for.”

Shortly after he was handed his diploma Thursday night, Hess said he planned to celebrate at a restaurant with friends and, later, at a campfire. In spite of early ambivalence about his course of study, he waxed nostalgic about his years at CMCC.

“I absolutely loved it,” Hess said said. “I felt like it was a big family. Everyone was very helpful and the teachers went above and beyond. I made a lot of new friends.”

Ten years ago, when he was homeless, McClelland ended up a resident at St. Martin de Porres in Lewiston. That is where his comeback began. He spent three weeks at the shelter before landing an apartment and, later, buying a house. McClelland was so grateful to the shelter, he continues to work there part time.

“His is a story of incredible triumph,” said Jimi Cutting, a house attendant at the Lewiston shelter.

When he was down and out, McClelland took his best swing in an attempt to reclaim his life. Now he has an associate degree in business administration and is on his way toward pursuing a bachelor’s degree at the University of Maine at Augusta.

“My plan,” he said, “is to just keep moving forward.”

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