Cabrillo College announced that it honored its largest graduating class ever. Cabrillo’s 60th graduating class is 1,476 students strong, a 23% increase over last year’s graduating class of 1196 graduates.
This year Cabrillo College will award 1150 A.A. degrees, 588 A.S. degrees, 232 certificates of achievement, and 246 skills certificates. The Cabrillo College Class of 2019 is comprised of graduates ranging in age from 17 to 75 years with an average age of 28. Of the total graduates, 63% are females and 37% are males. As a Federally designated Hispanic Serving Institution, 48% of Cabrillo’s graduating class is Latinx.
The Cabrillo College Class of 2019 contains a record 120 students who are graduating with a 4.0 Grade Point Average (GPA) (more than twice last year’s total of 50 students), 168 students who will graduate with high honors (3.75-3.99 GPA), 229 who will graduate with honors (3.5-3.74 GPA) and 597 who will graduate with honorable mentions (3.0-3.49 GPA).
This year, 80 students will graduate or transfer as part of the Honors Transfer Program, having completed all of the courses required to transfer, including at least 15 units of honors coursework, while also maintaining a 3.5 or higher GPA. Of those 80 Honors Transfer students, a record 40 of them are graduating with high honors (3.75-3.99 GPA).
Of Cabrillo’s Honor Transfer Students, 21 students were certified for the UCLA Transfer Alliance Program, which gives priority admission into the UCLA College of Letters and Sciences for fall, 2019. This year, Cabrillo students enjoyed an 88% admit rate into the UCLA College of Letters and Sciences.
Several Cabrillo graduates also received scholarships through the UC and CSU systems. Rosie Navarro of Watsonville received UCSC’s prestigious Pister Scholarship Award. Prior to transitioning to Cabrillo College, she attended Watsonville/Aptos Adult Education where she obtained her General Education Development (GED) in 2013.
A mother of four, she is a first-generation college student who is setting an example for her children. Rosie majored in Sociology and Communication Studies at Cabrillo. She will receive three different Cabrillo Associate’s Degrees; an AA in Sociology, an AA in Communications, and an AA in Liberal Arts and Sciences. Rosie maintained status as a full-time student with a cumulative GPA of 3.5.
She is a member of the Alpha Gamma Sigma Honor Society and helped with their fundraising by participating in bake sales. She has worked for several years with the disabled community in Santa Cruz County, and has also volunteered as a mentor for the Extended Opportunity Programs and Services (EOPS) program at Cabrillo College. In December 2018, Rosie was named the Cabrillo College Student of the Month.
Four students also received scholarships from the San Jose State University Alumni Association, Santa Cruz Chapter. Scholarship recipients include: Jasmine Fabie, Graphic Design major, Erin Koch, Public Health major, Ken Ueda-Martinez, International Business major, and Alejandro Uribe-Rocha, Civil Engineering major.
This year, 337 students will graduate with an Associate’s Degree for Transfer (AA-T/AS-T), a unique degree offered by the California Community Colleges for transfer into the CSU system. Students who earn an AA-T or AS-T Degree and meet the California State University (CSU) minimum eligibility requirements are guaranteed admission to a CSU.
Finally, this year Cabrillo will confer its first Honorary Degree to George Ow, Jr. Thirty years ago, George Ow, Jr. started the American Dream Scholarship program at Cabrillo College with the aim of helping local high school students attend Cabrillo. He has been awarding $500 to local high school students each year, supporting more than 1,600 students to date.
In honor of the Ow Family’s impact on Cabrillo College and the thousands of local students they have supported, President Matt Wetstein is conferring Cabrillo’s first honorary degree in Liberal Arts and Social Sciences to George Ow, Jr.
Following the processional and the National Anthem sung by the Cabrillo Chorale, Cabrillo College Vice President of Student Services Sue Gochis will welcome participants and guests. Cabrillo College President and Superintendent Dr. Matthew Wetstein and Cabrillo Faculty Senate President Dr. Robin McFarland will give their congratulatory remarks to the Cabrillo College Class of 2019.
Representing the Associated Students of Cabrillo College (ASCC), Student Senate President Moritz Wodtke and Student Trustee Daniel Perez will recognize Cabrillo’s Transfer Students, and Vice President of Instruction Dr. Kathleen Welch and Cabrillo Board President Christina Cuevas will present the class of 2019.
Dr. Francisco Iñiguez Becerra, Spanish Instructor, Alfonso Lobato, Math Instructor, Dr. Ekua Omosupe, English Instructor, and Nancy Stucker, Spanish Instructor, read the graduates’ names.
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For more information: Cabrillo.edu