The colleges of Engineering and Computer Science and of Science and Mathematics at California State University, Northridge, held their commencement ceremony on Friday, May 19 on the lawn in front of the University Library, the first of seven commencement ceremonies that run through May 22 at the campus.
Students poured in on a sunny and warm evening, laughing and showing off their customized mortarboards, with some standout messages sewn or pasted onto their caps, including “The Best Things Come to Those Who Don’t Give Up” and “One Eternity Later, Class of 2023.”
After applauding for a rendition of the National Anthem by soloist LaKeisha Mondy, the crowd again applauded enthusiastically — this time after watching a video of members of the Fernandeño Tataviam Band of Mission Indians, gathered in an orchard, who sang a traditional blessing song.
CSUN President Ericka D. Beck told the crowd, “Many of you are the first in your family to graduate from college,” and she asked those first-generation students to cheer. The warm cheering spread through the huge audience of students.
She told graduating students, “Showing up is your super power. … By showing up, you have succeeded. Keep showing up and keep succeeding.”
A handful of top students spoke, including Shelyn Villasis, a native of the Philippines who chose engineering, and is a first-generation college student in her family. She said of her university years, “I surrounded myself with people who had the same dream as mine.” She thanked “all the people who helped us along the way,” telling fellow students it’s OK to cry “but never be discouraged, because at the end of the day it is worth it.”
She was followed by student Audrey Todd, receiving a biotechnology degree, who said CSUN was “a warm and embracing culture for a black woman student. … I have thrived at CSUN.” She inspired loud applause from the crowd when she told them she was entering Stanford Medical School…
Read the full article here
