College of Science graduates celebrated during second day of Stan State 66th commencement

The second day of Stanislaus State’s 66th annual commencement ceremony celebrated graduates from the College of Science as they crossed the stage to receive their diplomas and mark the end of their academic journeys.

Family members, friends and faculty filled the venue as graduates reflected on years of hard work, long nights studying and the relief of finally completing their degrees.

The ceremony opened with remarks from Provost Richard Ogle who welcomed the crowd of graduates and attendees, followed by speeches from President Britt Rios-Ellis and Speaker of the Faculty Arya Alami before student speaker Samone Satleen Singh addressed the graduating class.

Singh, who graduated with a degree in biological science, welcomed all friends, faculty and fellow graduates before speaking about the meaning behind receiving a degree.

“As we walk across the stage today we’re not just receiving a degree, we’re accepting our responsibility, our responsibility to question boldly, to think critically, to act with integrity and to never stop being curious,” Singh said.

Through her speech, Singh emphasized that the college experience was more than academics.

“As students in the college of science we are taught to look deeper. We’re all guided by the same purpose to ask questions, stay curious and to keep going even when the answer wasn’t clear because science taught us something bigger than just facts and formulas. It taught us resilience, it taught us that learning and progress doesn’t happen at once,” she said.

She concluded her speech by reminding graduates of the impact they can have moving forward.

“Today is not about what we learn, it’s about who we become, we become people who are not afraid to ask why. But more importantly we become people who now have the power to make a difference because the world we are stepping into needs us,” she said.

Esmeralda Vasquez, who earned a bachelor’s degree in child development, encourages current students to continue to persevere through challenges.

“I would say to current students that to never give up on your dreams and hopes, because I know it will be a lot of struggles during their college experience and as well as just work towards your degree,” said Vasquez.

As she is ready to start a new chapter of her life she reminisces on some of her favorite memories at Stan State.

“Definitely one of my favorite memories is joining a sorority which is Alpha Z Delta, and with that experience, I’ve met so many new girls and made so many new friends and I made so many memories that I never had before,” she said.

Aaron Delgado graduated with a bachelor’s degree in computer science shared some pieces of advice for students that are nearing and getting ready for graduation soon.

“I believe you should take advantage of every opportunity you can in terms of preparing for what’s after graduation. Cause not only are y’all already closing into graduation that means you already basically made it. You just need to close it out. Just make sure you are ready after graduation,” said Aaron Delgado.

When reflecting on his time at Stan State, Delgado said his favorite part was meeting new people.

“I think it’s for sure just meeting people, meeting people every semester that I did. I think that really just freshen things up every day and every year,” he said.

Ella Adams graduated with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and recommends students to take as many fun classes as possible.

“My advice would be to take as many fun classes as possible because you never know what may pique your interest,” Adams said.

Contributors to this article: Kaihli Miner-Hill