About 250 to 350 students are expected to walk in DVC’s graduation ceremony at 7 p.m. on May 28 in Viking Stadium. 

President Judy Walters will address the graduates, as will faculty speaker Glenn Appell, a professor of jazz and popular music, and student speaker Miguel Zaragoza. 

Zaragoza is an Equal Opportunities Programs and Services peer adviser and a member of several campus clubs, including the Latino Student Alliance. He will transfer to UC Davis as a psychology major this fall, possibly adding Chicano studies for a double major. 

His advice to students are words he once heard from a UC Berkeley student: “It’s not who you know, it’s who knows you.” 

Zaragoza also recommends hard work and perseverance, but he emphasizes the importance of getting to know other people. “Without networking, I wouldn’t be where I am today,” he said. 

His speech will be about the journey of a young man going through the community college system with the goal of making his dreams, as well as those of his family, come true. 

Students walking in the ceremony will include those who are transferring with a certificate in transfer studies, as well as those who have earned an associate of arts degree.  

About 481 students will receive degrees for work completed in summer and fall of 2009, as well as spring 2010, said Sue Rohlicek, assistant to the vice president of student services. 

Rohlicek said she has not yet calculated the number of students receiving certificates in transfer studies. 

Not all students who receive certificates or degrees attend the ceremony. And not all students who transfer apply for the certificate, which allows them to participate.  

A total of 1,722 DVC students transferred to four-year schools in fall 2009, according to the California Postsecondary Education Commission website. 

Last year, DVC was also the No. 1 transfer school to UC Berkeley, with 208 students transferring.   After the program concludes at 9:30 p.m., a reception partially funded by the Associated Students of DVC, will follow in the Margaret Lesher Student Union area.  

The reception will include live music and refreshments catered by DVC’s cafeteria. 
 

Contact Lina Pervez at [email protected]