May 27, 2005

Allan Hancock College students donned caps and gowns and marched with pomp and circumstance onto the college’s southwest lawn Friday, May 27, to participate in the 84th annual commencement exercise.

The nearly 300 graduates at commencement were among 850 students who earned 1,186 associate in arts or science degrees during the 2004-05 academic year. These degrees-901 associate in arts degrees, and 285 associate in science degrees-were earned in 63 different subject areas. In addition, 892 certificates in 66 various subjects were earned by 736 students during the same period. Pictured above are Santa Maria Valley graduates (front row, left to right) Christy Sims and Bonnie Nolan, Santa Maria; Andy Morales, Guadalupe; and Johnny Urias, Santa Maria; (back row, left to right) Isaiah Brookshire, Orcutt; Michael Fuentes, Santa Maria; and Sophie McIlrath, Orcutt.

Among the 233 students who earned more than one degree, six students earned six degrees each. Jason Kump of Nipomo and Santa Marians Kimberly Kaufman, Erik Sanchez and David Statti each earned degrees in chemistry, engineering, liberal arts, mathematics with a physics emphasis, physics and transfer studies. Kevin Murdock of Santa Maria earned degrees in chemistry, engineering, liberal arts, mathematics with a computer science emphasis, physics and transfer studies. Jan Rehorik of Goleta earned degrees in chemistry, engineering, liberal arts, mathematics with a computer science emphasis, mathematics with a physics emphasis, and physics. Pictured above (left to right) are Orcutt graduates Barney Csotya, Greg Miles, Sheila Bower, Tiffany Mahan, Briana Oseguera, Lisa Marie Kane and Emily Carroll.

Of the 850 graduates, 199 graduated with honors for maintaining a GPA of 3.5 or above. Eight of those students maintained a GPA of 4.0 and graduated with high honors. They are Ron Dodds, Marianne Marinello and Keli Seyfert of Santa Maria; Bridget Hough and Dana Litzinger of Lompoc; Laura Ilsley and Elizabeth Klemm of Vandenberg Air Force Base; and Anja Treinen of Paso Robles. Pictured above are Lompoc graduates(front row, left to right) Cheryl Willard, Yea Vang, Maria Millsaps, Stephanie Terrones, and Natalie Terrones; (back row, left to right) John Herndon, Dana Litzinger, Heather Scott and Peter Thermos.

Allan Hancock College Superintendent/President Ann Foxworthy, Ph.D., welcomed participants on behalf of the college’s board of trustees and staff. She spoke briefly about the qualities she believes Allan Hancock College imparts to its students, qualities shared by none other than George Washington. “According to Pulitzer prize winning author David McCullough’s new book, 1776, Washington was ‘as subject as any man to moments of doubt and uncertainty but he managed to summon the self-confidence necessary to persevere amid disaster. He was committed heart and soul to the cause, resilient, open to new ideas, and seldom failed to learn from his mistakes,’” Foxworthy said. “Those are qualities we believe you students take away with you as you move on to new challenges in the years to come-self-confidence, perseverance, commitment, resilience, openness to new ideas, and the willingness to learn from your mistakes. At Allan Hancock College we are proud of the quality of education we provide and believe that education will prepare students….to be successful, productive, compassionate, and responsible citizens. If we have done our part, these graduates will do their part to improve our community and society.” Pictured above, left to right, are Vandenberg Air Force Base graduates Dana DuBrule, Charles Trammell, Andrea Tsitsilianos and Amy Haskell.

Her remarks included brief profiles of graduates with stories of their sacrifice and determination, and pointed out the diversity of students. “In their robes and caps, our students display a certain conformity today. Believe me, it’s deceiving because there is little similarity among these students. In fact, Allan Hancock College students reflect their community-its diverse ages, backgrounds and ethnicity. Residents of this community come to study at Allan Hancock College with different goals and at different times in their lives,” she said. “In case you think of college students as only recent high school graduates, consider that the average age of our graduates this year is 28 years.” Pictured above, left to right, are Santa Ynez Valley graduates Lola Gonzales of Buellton; Raiza Canelon, Santa Ynez; Veronica Marta Diaz, Buellton; Mikki Robinson, Santa Ynez; and Luz Zepeda, Solvang.

With ages ranging from 17 to 61, the 2004-05 graduates represent a wide range of experience and perspective, in addition to the diversity of backgrounds, ethnicity and culture they bring to the campus. Pictured at left, graduates from the Five Cities area are (front row, left to right) Denise Pulver and Laura Elston, Arroyo Grande; and Lacey Avila, Grover Beach; (back row, left to right) Calvin Thompson and Paul Kalata, Oceano.

The youngest graduate this year is 17-year-old Isaiah Brookshire of Santa Maria. He received degrees in liberal arts and transfer studies. He commended Hancock’s “tremendous staff,” but said the best thing about Hancock is the small community college atmosphere. “I enjoyed the privilege of having one on one conversations with teachers and seeing people I know every day,” he said. A Hancock honors student, Brookshire plans to transfer to Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, to major in political science.

Oldest graduate and Honors student Johnny Urias is 61 years old and received a degree in automotive technology: auto tune-up and diagnostic procedures. This is his second degree from Allan Hancock College. He is now working toward a bachelor’s degree in business at the University of Phoenix and wants to eventually teach in Hancock’s automotive department.

Relatives graduating together include a husband and wife, two pairs of brothers and sisters, two sets of sisters, and two sets of brothers.

Foxworthy profiled students who overcame financial challenges, students who returned to school after decades of work, and students who gave their all for their college and their community.

In keeping with tradition, the college’s top scholarship winner was also honored at commencement with the prestigious G. Allan Hancock award. Kimberly Kaufman, who Thursday evening at the college’s scholarship awards ceremony was presented with the college’s top scholarship, the Marian Hancock Scholarship, was presented with a plaque by Foxworthy. Marian Hancock, the wife of Capt. G. Allan Hancock, for whom the college is named, was a staunch supporter of the college and the scholarship program, and she established the G. Allan Hancock award in conjunction with the Marian Hancock Scholarship.

Nine years ago Kaufman dropped out of school, became homeless, bore a daughter, and dealt with a broken car and a bad attitude. For four years she tried to support herself and her daughter, but could barely make it from month to month. She took the first step to a better life by boarding a SMAT bus one day and picking up and reading a discarded Allan Hancock College class schedule, eventually realizing that the only way she was going to improve her situation was to improve her education. She enrolled in Allan Hancock College’s pharmacy technology program in 2001 and completed her degree and internship. With the encouragement of her instructor, she realized she wanted to continue her education, exploring her newfound passion for chemistry. She participated in the Allan Hancock College MESA program and currently works as a MESA program facilitator.

Kaufman is one of six students who earned six degrees. She plans to pursue a chemical engineering degree at UCSB and earn a master’s degree in material science. Her career goal is to research materials for space projects. This summer Kaufman will be interning at UCSB’s chemical engineering labs working on a project extracting H2 (hydrogen) molecules from water for alternate energy sources. She was also accepted at UC Berkeley and UC San Diego.

In addition to pursuing her educational dreams, Kaufman, a single mother, finds time to run a 3rd grade math club at Nightingale School and volunteer in her daughter’s classroom. She co-founded the Allan Hancock College Chemistry, Math and Life Science Club, currently serving as its president.

Associated Student Body President Ann Pena spoke on behalf of the graduating class and Vice President, Academic Affairs Betty Inclan, Ph.D., introduced Steve O’Neill, academic senate president, who presented the graduates.

A capacity crowd of more than 2,000 family members and friends of the graduates attended the commencement exercise, held on the west athletic lawn on the Santa Maria campus.

- AHC -