On Friday, June 3, Coastline Community College hosted its 40th commencement ceremony in the Orange Coast College’s Robert B. Moore Theatre.
The inspiring evening entailed recognition of all graduates from the youngest being 17 years old to the oldest being 74 years old. The ceremony honored 28 valedictorians, and graduates from the following programs: Early College High School, EOPS, Acquired Brain Injury and Military.
On Friday, June 3, Coastline Community College hosted its 40th commencement ceremony in the Orange Coast College’s Robert B. Moore Theatre.
The inspiring evening entailed recognition of all graduates from the youngest being 17 years old to the oldest being 74 years old. The ceremony honored 28 valedictorians, and graduates from the following programs: Early College High School, EOPS, Acquired Brain Injury and Military.
Many of the graduates traveled from far distances that ranged from San Diego to Europe. Impactful words and genuine remarks were given by academic leaders, district administrators, student government leaders, Coast Colleges Board President David A. Grant and Coastline President Lori Adrian.
“Coastline is proud to host our momentous 40th Anniversary commencement ceremony. This is a milestone event,” said Adrian. “Many of our graduates are the first to go to college, have had hardships and challenges, and have had to get their degree from a distance. Coastline is proud to provide much-needed opportunities for our students to thrive no matter where they are in life.”
Coastline youngest graduate and valedictorian, Ariana Isbell, recalled coming to Coastline for the first time. As a high school student her goal was to attend Coastline to strengthen her skills in graphic design and did not have the thought in mind of graduating.
It wasn’t before long that she realized that she was on track to get her Associate degree earlier than expected. Ariana’s mother, Marie Hullett, who works at Coastline as a multimedia producer and is also a 2016 Coastline graduate, encouraged her to take a few classes at Coastline while in high school.
During her time at Coastline, Ariana recalls having a great support system among her instructors, Amy Caterina (illustration instructor), Kate Shelley (fine arts instructor) and Deborah Secord (geology instructor). She credits her instructors for helping her along the way during her academic journey. Looking back on her academic experience, she recognizes that balancing her classes in college and in high school was a big challenge. She recalls having to sacrifice some of her grades in high school to do well in her college classes. After graduation, Ariana plans to attend California State University, Fullerton and will be studying Musical Theater, Video Game Design and Japanese.
Coastline’s Military graduate, Carol Newland, traveled from Germany to attend the graduation with her family. Back in 2013, Carol read great reviews on Facebook about Coastline and decided to give the college a try—she would only take a few classes, but graduation was not in mind.
During her time at Coastline, her husband and two daughters were very supportive, often encouraging her to continue her education. One of her daughters completed her master’s degree in 2014 and became her mentor to finish her degree as well.
Her daughter served as her “go-to” person to review her papers and suggest corrections, while her 15-year-old daughter told her that she was not allowed to fail any of her high school classes so Carol was not allowed to fail either.
While at Coastline, Carol would have to attend class as early as 6 a.m., but credits Coastline Military staff member Diana Agag-Maxwell for being a great supporter who helped keep her on track toward a degree in Supply Chain Management. Carol is already a supply chain sergeant, and with a degree her career will be able to take off even more. After Coastline, she will be pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Operation Management when she transfers to Ashford University in the fall of 2017.
Special guests of the ceremony included Coast Colleges Board of Trustees members David A. Grant, Mary Hornbuckle, Lorraine Prinsky Jim Moreno.
The ceremony included a Presentation of Flags by the Installation Support Command at Joint Forces Training Base in Los Alamitos and the singing of the National Anthem by Coastline student Alexander Ortiz. A total of 2,199 degrees and 625 Certificates of Achievement were awarded by Coastline.
