#MCCGrads2025: Rafael Hines, first recipient of MCC honorary degree, had a heart for helping young people
Rafael D’Wayne Hines will posthumously receive an Honorary Associate of Humanity Degree at the 1 p.m. Metropolitan Community College commencement ceremony Thursday, May 22. This is the first time in the institution’s 110-year history that MCC has conferred an honorary degree.
While pursuing an associate in arts at MCC alongside his wife, Christine, Hines passed away unexpectedly on Dec. 31, 2021, from complications related to COVID-19. He was 48.
Christine said Rafael had planned to pursue a business degree because he knew it would equip him to accomplish more in the areas of youth and community development, his passion.
Rafael worked a variety of jobs before launching Success Link Outreach in 2016. The nonprofit organization provided food, tutoring, advocacy, mentorship and other resources for underserved and marginalized youth in Kansas City.
Rafael’s daughter, Christen, 22, said her dad was “always good to people.” She said some of her fondest memories are “me and Mom and Dad delivering meals” and “standing in Parker Square handing out meals.”
Shonda Hines, one of Rafael’s 10 siblings, said it was always a heartwarming, full-circle moment when the young people who benefited from Success Link as children would come back to work for the organization.
Rafael’s spirit for entrepreneurship and lifelong commitment to giving back to his community were particularly impressive because he had overcome a number of obstacles in his own life.
When he was 10, an accident at home left Rafael with third-degree burns over 35% of his body, and he endured excruciating pain during a lengthy hospital stay. Then, when he was 22, Rafael and Christine were in a car accident: their car flipped, and Rafael was ejected. Multiple neck and spinal injuries left him with paraplegia, and he used a wheelchair for mobility after that.
Sue Gochis, MCC vice chancellor of student success and engagement, said she was approached by Shonda in 2023 about honoring Rafael with a posthumous degree. When she found out MCC didn’t have a policy or application process in place for such an honor, Gochis initiated the procedure for establishing one.
District Policy 6.10022 was adopted by the MCC Board of Trustees on June 20, 2024, establishing five criteria through which a nominee can qualify for an honorary degree. A nominee has to meet only one of the criteria — professional achievement; contributions to society; leadership and influence; alignment with MCC values; impact on MCC — but Rafael met all of them.
“We used MCC’s core values to design the criteria for the award, and I’m excited to be able to present this award to Rafael,” Gochis said. “He was the perfect person to receive such an honor, especially as our first recipient ever.”
Rafael was inducted into the Kansas City Black Archives in 2022 and is also included in the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History & Culture in Washington, according to Shonda.