The Future Begins Here: the 2020 Graduation Issue
At Santa Monica College, every dream and every journey matters – as the stories of these five inspirational 2020 SMC graduates demonstrate. We celebrate them and the thousands more who graduated this year, giving us all hope for a brighter future shaped by their tenacity and artistry.
![Kiko Thomas](/news/in-focus/2020/vol-vi-issue-3/images/Kiko_HOME-PAGE.jpg)
Artist’s Journey
Curator and artist Kiko Thomas’s work illustrates the ravages of imperialism and the depths of human behavior. LACMA selected this talented SMC student for its prestigious Mellon Curatorial Fellowship.
![Maria Vasquez](/news/in-focus/2020/vol-vi-issue-3/images/a2-HOME-PAGE.jpg)
True Grit
Maria Vasquez has been in a wheelchair all her life – but that did not stop her from being the first in her family to attend college. This SMC grad is “just like the rest of us, only five times better.”
![Quenarii Lampkin](/news/in-focus/2020/vol-vi-issue-3/images/HOME-PAGE.png)
Longing for—and Finding—a Black College Experience
Quenarii Lampkin ’20 always wanted to go to a HBCU. She would find that experience and family at SMC through the Black Collegians Umoja Community – and Quenarii, in spite of obstacles or no, soared.
![Daniela Davalos](/news/in-focus/2020/vol-vi-issue-3/images/DanielaHOME-PAGE.jpg)
Engineering Her Future
A child of immigrants from Mexico, Daniela Davalos is building a bright future in STEM with perseverance and “an optimistic attitude that is contagious.”
![Off the clock](/news/in-focus/2020/vol-vi-issue-3/images/Off-the-Clock.png)
Bragging Rights
A dance instructor featured in “Penny Dreadful.” A Baha’i club at SMC. Earth Week still a success.
![Teresa Raschilla](/news/in-focus/2020/vol-vi-issue-3/images/a6HOME-PAGE.png)
A Modern-day Renaissance Woman
This “dreamer and doer” and new grad rediscovered her passion for art and found her destiny at SMC. Teresa Raschilla, SMC to UC Irvine transfer, is a true renaissance woman.
SMC In the News
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