RAÍCES Latinx Graduation @ Laney College

The Class of 2023 Celebrates In-Person for the First Time Since 2019

This year the College of Alameda’s Class of 2023 celebrated Commencement and Transfer Events fully in person for the first time since 2019. On May 18, 2023, 44 students participated in the College’s Transfer Event. Students received gifts, a cupcake decorated with the name of their transfer schools, and a special outdoor display of all of the schools that they are transferring to. CoA counselors Maha Elaidy, Vivian Virkkila, and Student Accessibility Services Director Rachel Goodwin greeted students and their families. Each of the students rang a ceremonial bell as they departed the event.

Berkeley City College Class of 2023 Commencement Celebrates Graduates and Hope

Berkeley City College’s commencement ceremony honored the class of 2023 at UC Berkeley’s Zellerbach Hall on Wednesday, May 24. It was the first in-person commencement ceremony since 2019. This year, Berkeley City College conferred 962 degrees and certificates to 551 graduates. Of those graduates, 130 were on-hand to walk the stage and receive their diplomas from Berkeley City College President Angélica Garcia in front of over 1,000 family members and friends in the audience.

Capping off a successful Spring 2023 semester, Laney College held its graduation fully in person. The graduation took place on May 26 at the Laney Field and included speeches from Laney President Dr. Rudy Besikof, Oakland City Council Member Treva Reid, and Valedictorian Kenneth Z. Lester.

College of Alameda celebrated its 2023 graduates with a fully in-person event on May 26 on the CoA soccer field. The commencement ceremony included speeches from Acting CoA President Dr. Diana Bajrami, incoming President of the Faculty Senate of College of Alameda Jennifer Fowler, and Valedictorian Verlie Carmack Collins.

With a triumphant return to fully in-person celebrations, Berkeley City College celebrated its graduating class on May 24, 2023. The commencement ceremony was held at Zellerbach Hall at UC Berkeley and included speeches from BCC President Dr. Angelica Garcia, Board of Trustees member Dyana Delfín Polk, and Valedictorian Parneet Virk.

This LA Times article “UC Berkeley Spreads the Gospel of Data Science with New College, Free Curriculum” by Teresa Wantanabe from May 18 (estimated reach 26.4 Million readers) has been republished in multiple outlets including Denver Gazette and Yahoo News (estimated reach 58.9 Million!) and has been pushed by Apple News. The article mentions Laney College as a collaborator on the data science curriculum:

Merritt College 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.