News Release

CONTACT: Della Elliott, Public Information, (619) 644-7690, della.elliott@gcccd.edu

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                               May 25, 2006

Grossmont, Cuyamaca colleges’
commencements this week

EL CAJON – –  Syndicated  political cartoonist and standup comedian Steve Kelley, whose sometimes irreverent, always entertaining drawings appeared for nearly 20 years in Opinion pages of The San Diego Union, is the keynote commencement speaker for Cuyamaca College’s ceremony, set for  5:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 31.

“My objective is to offer a few amusing observations about the world into which the graduates are about to find themselves, and some very practical suggestions about how they might make the transition from college to the real world,” said Kelley, on staff at The Times-Picayune in New Orleans since 2002 and for 20 years before that, at The San Diego Union, now known as The San Diego Union-Tribune.

The award-winning political cartoonist, who first took his wit onstage at the Improv in Pacific Beach in 1985 and has since appeared on The Tonight Show several times and other national TV shows, spoke at Cuyamaca’s commencement in 2002 and is making a return engagement by popular demand.

Cuyamaca College will honor 581students receiving associate’s degrees and certificates of achievement at the 28th annual commencement, beginning at 5:30 p.m. at the college track. And for the 45th year, Grossmont College will laud its 1,070 students receiving associate’s degrees and certificates of achievement during a ceremony starting at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, June 1, at the college’s main quad.

The commencements cap a busy year, highlighted by the start of construction of four major buildings: a communication arts building and student center at Cuyamaca, and a digital arts building and sculpture facility at Grossmont.

“The colleges face an exciting future with the construction of these facilities, much like the graduates starting a new chapter in their lives after going through commencement,” said Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District Chancellor Omero Suarez. “It will be my pleasure to wish graduates well in their educational and career pursuits.”

Cuyamaca valedictory speech

Giving the valedictory speech at Cuyamaca will be Dianna Wilcox, a mid-year graduate who is currently attending UCSD, majoring in International Studies-Linguistics, and minoring in African Studies. A graduate of Helix High School, where she was very active in school activities, including drama and Key clubs and junior varsity and varsity cheerleading, Wilcox is a 4.0 graduate of Cuyamaca, where she earned an associate’s degree in University Transfer Studies. She aspires to continue her education by obtaining a master’s degree in linguistics or international affairs.

There are other stories among the graduates of the class of 2006 that offer slice-of-life vignettes: the 75-year-old woman who is Cuyamaca’s oldest graduate, and the 17-year-old honors student who is the youngest to graduate from Grossmont.

The stories of the more than 1.5 million people who have attended either Grossmont or Cuyamaca College since the district was formed in 1961 are varied, but the common denominator is the excellent education that the students received, either in preparation for university transfer or to obtain new or upgraded job skills, said Dr. Geraldine M. Perri, Cuyamaca College president.

“This week’s commencement, with 374 associate degree graduates and 207 certificate recipients, affirms that Cuyamaca College is a vibrant educational institution, with a quality academic program and comprehensive student support services,” she said.

In addition to the customary procession of graduates to the tune of the time-honored Pomp and Circumstance, the commencement speeches and the tassel ceremony, attendees of Cuyamaca’s commencement will also enjoy a performance of the ASL (American Sign Language) Choir, directed by ASL instructor Kelley Nielsen. Also taking their turns in front of the audience will be faculty members Ingrid Tarikas, Donna Hajj and Donna Riley, who will sing the National Anthem.

Grossmont College speakers

In keeping with college tradition, Grossmont is featuring a student speaker, chosen from among a group of honor graduates who auditioned before a selection committee; and two additional speakers, both Grossmont College alumni.

This year’s student speaker is Andrew Valle, an honors graduate in biology, who will attend UCLA as a biological science major. By his own admission a less-than-stellar and unmotivated student out of high school, Valle credits Grossmont for helping him find his educational compass. His ultimate goal is to become a reconstructive surgeon.

“Andrew Valle is an exceptional student, a tribute to community college’s important contribution to higher education and its impact on people’s lives,” said Dr. Dean Colli, interim Grossmont College president.  “We are proud of Andrew, and of all our accomplished graduates. We look forward to the celebration of our 45th annual commencement.”

The two alumni slated to speak at commencement are Dr. Ezequiel Cardenas, chair of Cuyamaca’s foreign language department; and Professor Rick Kirby, instructor and coordinator of Grossmont’s cardiovascular technology program.

Kirby, CVT instructor since 1971 and program coordinator since 1987, was named to the ranks of Grossmont’s Distinguished Faculty in 2000. An active member of the college community, Kirby will retire at year’s end, bringing to a close a distinguished career as an educator and dedicated proponent of Grossmont’s CVT program.

A graduate himself of Grossmont, Kirby transferred to San Diego State University, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in vocational education, and his master’s degree in curriculum and instruction. He trained also at the U.S. Naval School of Health Sciences in Bethesda, Md., where he subsequently began his teaching career. Other career highpoints include work at the San Diego Naval Hospital, and a stint as an educational consultant to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, where he developed an in-service training program in CVT for the King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center in Riyada.

Kirby’s youngest daughter is currently a Grossmont College student, and son, Scott, a graduate of the college’s CVT program, is the senior pediatric ultrasound technologist at Children’s Hospital in Denver, Colo.

Fellow Grossmont alum and commencement speaker Cardenas came to Grossmont College after graduating from Helix High School. He initially aspired to become a dentist, but said biology classes changed his mind. Instead, he found himself drawn to the language laboratory, where he liked helping others practice their Spanish. His love of foreign languages took him to San Diego State University, where he earned both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees, while also working the language lab and as a teaching assistant.

Cardenas completed his doctorate in Latin American Literature at the University of Colorado, Boulder, in 1975, taught for a year the University of Arizona, then returned to Grossmont College to teach. In 1986, he became an instructor at Cuyamaca.

In 2005, he was named Teacher of the Year by the Cuyamaca College Academic Senate, based on the recommendation of students. A fervent believer in language immersion as a way to learn a foreign language, Cardenas has led more than 20 Study Abroad programs in Europe, Mexico and Central America.

After a student once spoke to him about the need for bilingual police officers in San Diego, Cardenas developed a partnership between local community colleges and the SDPD to produce more officers able to converse in Spanish.

Faculty honors

In addition to lauding graduates, both colleges take the opportunity to publicly honor outstanding faculty members.

At Grossmont, counselor Mary Rider will be recognized as the 2005-2006 Distinguished Faculty award recipient. At Cuyamaca, Jodi Reed will be lauded as the Excellence in Teaching award recipient for full-time faculty, and Guillermo Colls as the recipient for part-time faculty. Reed is a computer and information science instructor; Colls is an English as a second language instructor.

Middle College graduation

Thirty-three seniors from the Grossmont Middle College High School are slated to receive their high school diplomas during a ceremony set for 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, June 7, in the college’s Main Quad. Students in the unique program attend daily high school core classes taught by high school instructors on the college campus. The remainder of their school day is spent taking additional high school courses as needed for graduation and college general education courses. The students, who are required to complete a minimum six college credits per semester, join the mainstream college student population for those classes.

Grossmont College is at 8800 Grossmont College Drive in El Cajon. For driving and campus maps, visit www.grossmont.edu or call (619) 644-7000.

Cuyamaca College is at 900 Rancho San Diego Parkway in Rancho San Diego. For directions and campus maps, go to www.cuyamaca.edu or call (619) 660-4000.

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