Santa Monica College to Hold In-person Commencement Ceremony June 11

Santa Monica College to Hold In-person Commencement Ceremony June 11

SANTA MONICA, CA — Santa Monica College (SMC) is pleased to announce that its 94th Commencement Ceremony will be held in person on Tuesday, June 11, at 4 p.m. at Corsair Field, located on the main SMC campus (1900 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica). The ceremony will also be webcast live and available on the SMC Commencement webpage (smc.edu/commencement).

Families and friends from all over the world who are not able to attend graduation in person can go to smc.edu to enjoy the ceremony, congratulatory speeches, and “Move the Tassel Moment” for the graduates. The ceremony also features a "Salutation" by SMC Superintendent/President Dr. Kathryn E. Jeffery; "Welcome" by SMC Board of Trustees Chair Dr. Margaret Quiñones-Perez; "Faculty Challenge" by SMC Academic Senate President Jamar London, and the "Student Challenge" by graduating Student Speaker Patrisia Diaz Maldonado.

“The changes this class have encountered in a few short years have been monumental,” said SMC Superintendent/President Dr. Kathryn E. Jeffery. “They faced a global pandemic, a world roiled by wars and campus protests, a nation rocked by social injustice and political upheaval.

They have also seen the promise of the future in emerging technologies like artificial intelligence, new economies such as ocean farming, new ways to combat the climate crisis in SMC’s recently planted microforest.

As graduates move beyond SMC to the next part of their academic and career journey, they will encounter many things that are very different or substantially changed from what they knew when first embarking on the pathway through SMC. Because they have successfully reached the important culminating point designated by a commencement or graduation ceremony, we are confident they are ready to move onward and upward.”

SMC will award 9,725 degrees and certificates. About 1,000 of the 6,309 students who have earned degrees and certificates are expected to take part in this year’s graduation.

“This year’s graduates truly represent the spirit of community colleges — places of opportunity where individuals from diverse educational backgrounds come to realize their dreams,” said SMC Enrollment Services Dean Esau Tovar. “Whether they started SMC as high school concurrent students, returned to college after a break, came seeking training for a new career, or pursued a long-held dream of earning a degree, they fulfill that at Commencement. This year's graduating class is particularly amazing. It’s our largest class yet and includes a 15-year-old and an 85-year-old, each receiving both an Associate of Arts degree in Liberal Arts: Arts and Humanities, and an Associate of Arts degree in Liberal Arts: Social and Behavioral Science. Thanks to students’ determination and perseverance, guided by SMC faculty and staff, we celebrate their success today!”

Specialty graduation ceremonies are also scheduled (details at smc.edu/commencement):

• Veterans Graduation Celebration
• Lavender Graduation Celebration
• Donor & Scholarship Recognition Luncheon
• Transfer Toast
• APIDA Graduation Celebration
• Student Services Awards Celebration
• DREAM Program Graduation Celebration
• IxD Senior Virtual Grad Show
• Respiratory Therapy Ceremony
• Nursing Pinning Ceremony
• CMD Student Showcase
• Latinx/e Graduation Celebration
• Black Student Graduation
• Elementary & Early Childhood Education Graduate Celebration

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