Supporters of students from the graduating Class of 2025 cheered and celebrated as the graduates entered Murdock Stadium for the 78th Annual El Camino College Commencement Ceremony on Friday, June 13.
While walking through Featherstone Field, many students were able to find their family and friends in attendance.
As people in the audience cheered, many recorded the ceremony with their cameras while others waved cardboard cutouts of the graduates they were supporting.
After all the graduates in attendance were seated, the ceremony began with a welcome from ECC President Brenda Thames and congratulatory remarks from Associated Students Organization President Danielle Kabboul, student trustee Wesley Marshall and distinguished full-time faculty member of the year Polly Parks.
“[El Camino graduates], through your life experiences, each of you has written your own story of resilience and determination that has led you to this moment… We congratulate you on your accomplishments,” Thames said during her opening speech.
This year’s Commencement saw the first 25 graduates of ECC’s respiratory care bachelor’s of science program, which started in 2023. The program is the first at ECC to provide students with a bachelor’s degree.
As graduates waited in line to receive their degrees and certificates, many searched for their family and friends in the bleachers of Murdock Stadium and took photos with their fellow graduates.
Once the names of each graduate in attendance for the ceremony were announced, the graduates stood and turned the tassels on their caps from right to left as a symbol of the attainment of their degree or certificate, to the cheers and applause of the crowd.
“That was the most fun I had all year,” Thames said to the audience after giving out degree covers and taking photos with graduates.
The Union Editor-in-Chief Nikki Yunker contributed to this story.
