Merritt College Holds Career Fair

On May 4th Merritt College held its Career Fair. In what can only be described as an unqualified success, we had 151 Merritt students and 32 visitors from the general public (183 in total) in attendance! Nearly 40 employers participated in the fair as well (including companies and organizations such as Marriott, United Airlines, Coca-Cola, Fed Ex, USPS, Alameda Sheriff’s Department, Homeland Security, Enterprise, and Goodwill). The employers were extremely impressed with our students, and many of them left with job opportunities. So special thanks to everyone who worked so hard to put this event together and those of you who encouraged your students to attend. It was our best Career Fair to date, and we look forward to an even better event next year.

Merritt Staff Spotlight: Maria Valencia

Merritt is very proud to share another success story from the ranks of our classified professional staff. Ms. Maria Valencia currently works in the Office of Instruction as the assistant to the VPI. She describes herself as a first-generation student from a very impoverished background, but also as someone who always had a strong desire to earn a college degree. After a few fits and starts in her education (including spending years at Chabot without making significant academic progress), she eventually found her way to Merritt College. She recalls that the staff and faculty here were amazing, supportive, and caring—and she is grateful that they showed her how to take the steps necessary to achieve her goals. Maria went on to graduate from Merritt with two Associate degrees (one in Behavioral Science and an AAT in Psychology). But she didn’t stop there, as she transferred to Cal State East Bay to receive her B.A. in Psychology. And then she decided to take it a step further. Two weeks ago, she earned her Master’s Degree in Social Work (MSW) from the University of Southern California (USC)! Please join me in congratulating Maria on this tremendous accomplishment!

As the Academic Year Closes, Merritt Thanks Faculty & Staff

As we make our way through the graduation season here at Peralta, Merritt would like to thank the classified professional staff, the faculty, and the administrative team for everything you have done this year to support our students in reaching this point. We are entrusted with the responsibility of providing our students with the direction and support they need to achieve their educational goals at Merritt College. And despite the challenges that we faced this year, we fought through them to ensure that they made it through. So as we attend these graduation ceremonies I hope that you are inspired and reminded of why we do the work that we do. The smiles, hugs, and tears of happiness we see as our students “walk the stage” make it all worth it!

This article is taken from the President’s Report, written by Dr. David M. Johnson, Merritt College President, that was presented to the PCCD Board of Trustees during their regular meeting on Tuesday, May 16, 2023. To view it as a pdf, click here.