Although graduations at our local community colleges – Laney and Merritt colleges in Oakland, Berkeley City College and College of Alameda – took place last month, it is never too late to reflect back on the hopeful words spoken at these inspiring ceremonies.
And what could be more uplifting than the speeches by our valedictorians. In this month’s column, we salute these impressive young folks as they embark on their futures as graduates of Class of 2017 at the Peralta Colleges.
Berkeley City College’s valedictorian, Patrick Kruger, has been a keen voice at the college as a writer behind BCC Voice, the college’s newsletter. He served as editor in chief for two terms. The Voice is published twice a semester and is entirely written by students. The newsletter allows students the opportunity to write for a real audience – while offering a voice for Berkeley City College students.
A Minnesota native, Kruger followed his girlfriend to Berkeley in 2011 to support her educational goals and in doing so discovered his own. Kruger, who also served as a writing tutor in BCC’s English Department, plans to continue his education in the fall at Columbia University. You can watch Kruger’s address here: https://youtu.be/jg-IgCKh6qk.
College of Alameda’s valedictorian for the Class of 2017 is Fudhah Al Khafaji, an Iraqi native. Al Khafaji came to the United States four years ago by way of Amman, Jordan, where she learned about the pharmaceutical and biochemistry fields. Once in the United States, she volunteered as a chemistry lab assistant at Laney College and provided support to students, encouraging them to take science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) courses.
She joined the Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement (MESA) program at College of Alameda, and helped to tutor fellow students in science and math classes. With her degree in biology from College of Alameda, she plans to work in pharmaceuticals designing new drugs. She will transfer to UC Berkeley this fall to study chemical biology. You can see Al Kahafaji’s speech here: https://youtu.be/Zz_DPpHtCck.
Pauline Johnson, Laney College’s Class of 2017 valedictorian, is a native of San Francisco. Johnson’s upbringing was painful. In turning her life around, she enrolled at Laney College, where she became involved with the Phi Thea Kappa Honor Society, the Writing Center and the Disabled Students Program and Services.
A mother of seven and grandmother to six, Johnson is walking testimony that it is possible to turn one’s life around. In her spare time, she enjoys going to church, mentoring youth, spending time with her grandchildren and catching a good movie. Johnson’s GPA is a 4.0, and her major was humanities. This fall, she will be transferring to Cal State East Bay to complete her bachelor’s degree in sociology. Watch Johnson’s address here: https://youtu.be/FYVHNqQICf4.
Merritt College was honored this year with two valedictorians. Valedictorian Asmita Neupane came to Merritt College from Nepal. At Merritt, she achieved a 4.0 GPA and received an associate’s degree in health sciences. Her ultimate dream is to become a nurse. She is currently getting experience by volunteering at San Leandro Hospital. You can watch Neupane’s speech at here: https://youtu.be/uSS3KIcFyo8.
Merritt’s second valedictorian, who did not address the grads, is Anya Elizabeth Edwards. She majored in administration of justice and graduated with an associate in science, earning a 4.0 GPA. She will transfer to Cal State East Bay this fall, and plans to work in law enforcement.
If you are inspired by our grads, as I am, and want to see more from the graduations, you watch the compete commencement ceremonies at our four community colleges on Peralta TV’s YouTube channel: http://bit.ly/ Peralta2017Graduations.
Contact Jeffrey Heyman at jheyman@peralta.edu and follow him on Twitter at @JeffHeyman.
