Students were overcome with the sense of accomplishment as the El Camino class of 2017 graduated at Murdock Stadium on Friday, June 9.
For the first time in EC history, more than 1,000 students were involved in the graduation ceremony. There were also more than 7,000 in the stands of Murdock Stadium.
Dena Maloney, president of El Camino, is incredibly proud of this year’s graduating class.
“So many of our students are the first in their family to attend and graduate college,” Maloney said. “Many (students) are working and have other obligations to complete at EC. (It takes) a lot of dedication and commitment to graduate.”
Exactly 1,005 students were at the graduation ceremony on Friday, but there were some that did not walk with their graduate class, so more than 1,000 students graduated from EC in total.
There were 48 students from the Alpha Gamma Sigma (Honors Society) and 39 graduated. Thirty of those 39 attended the commencement ceremony on Friday, June 9.
Christopher Guillen, 20, speech pathology major, is very thankful for everything that EC offered, and that he graduated from EC in two years.
“My experience with First Year Experience (was) the most helpful in everything I did to help me succeed at El Camino,” Guillen said. “I am excited to start the next chapter of my life at Cal State University of Northridge.”
EC’s athletic department is one of the best in Southern California, as shown by the success of the softball and baseball programs this spring.
Victoria Curtice, 20, Social Science major, is thankful that she was able to be a part of such an established volleyball program for two years.
“My coaches and the athletic department kept me on track physically and mentally (in) the summer before (my) freshman year until now,” Curtice said. “I knew I always had their support. It was by far, the best program I’ve ever been a part of. I wouldn’t be where I am today without my coaches pushing me to be my best.”
The class of 2017 is not just graduating, but transferring to high end universities. More than 150 students are transferring to UCLA, while 100 students are transferring to UC Berkeley.
“We will prepare you for transfer at El Camino. There are so many resources available to students (here),” Maloney said. “There’s a lot of support systems in place (for students) to figure out what their goal is and how to get there.”