Commencement 2014

The 2014 Commencement Ceremony was held on the main quad at Cañada College on Saturday morning, May 24th. A record 326 of over 850 students who received their Associate of Arts Degrees, Associate of Sciences Degrees, and Certificates this spring, participated in the Commencement Ceremony. A crowd of more than 1,200 family and friends joined faculty, staff, and administrators in the celebration. In addition, Chancellor Ron Galatolo and each member of the Board of Trustees were in attendance.

The students were treated to an electric presentation by Commencement Speaker, Dr. Andrés Roemer, Consul General of Mexico. Dr. Roemer’s primary message was that the very purpose of education was to challenge convention and the status quo. Those who did, could change the world, while those who fear change, are generally those who see little value in education. Transforming perceptions of education is critical to making ours a better, more flourishing society.

Nikita Michelson Receives President’s Leadership Award

Nikita Michelson

A highlight of May 24th's Commencement Ceremony was the awarding of the 2014 President's Leadership Award to graduating Sophomore Nikita Michelson. The award is given annually to a student who shows extraordinary leadership traits. Shortly after moving to the Bay Area from Sweden in 2011, Nikita enrolled at Cañada and joined the Honors Transfer Program. She became an active member in the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society. She oversaw two PTK campus-wide programs; one measuring academic honesty and the other examining student dietary change. Both projects received honors at the annual PTK International Convention. Nikita will be continuing her studies in Business Administration and Economics at UCLA in the fall.

Student Speaker Steven Jackson

Steven Jackson

This year's Commencement Student Speaker was Steven Jackson. Prior to coming to Cañada College, Steven worked for more than 13 years in the telecommunications industry throughout the Silicon Valley. When he was laid off from Hewlett Packard at the end of 2011, he enrolled at Cañada in the hope of eventually earning a degree in Business Administration. In accomplishing that goal, he is the first in his family to have graduated with a college degree.

Steven is an officer in the Phi Theta Kappa Honors Society, a member of the college's Beating The Odds program, a peer mentor for disenfranchised, first generation students, and a volunteer with the Ecumenical Hunger Program in East Palo Alto, a non-profit organization that provides furniture, food, and clothing to low-income families. Steven will be attending UC Berkeley in the spring, where he plans to major in Rhetoric with a minor in Economics. At Cañada College, he completed four separate degrees, including, Business Administration, an AS in Accounting, an AA in Economics, and an AA in Interdisciplinary Studies with an emphasis on Social and Behavioral Sciences.

Class of 2014 Valedictorians

Left to right: Heidi Albrecht, Djedjiga Khettab, Tiffany Htwe, Melissa Gier, Marie Aude Alexander