San Diego Community College District

The strains of the “Pomp and Circumstance” graduation march will once again be heard at the region’s community colleges this spring, as the 10 community colleges in San Diego and Imperial Counties celebrate a return to in-person commencements. 

Because of public health concerns from the COVID-19 pandemic, community colleges held virtual ceremonies in 2020 and 2021. Many found new ways to celebrate their graduates, with drive-by ceremonies in which the graduates were cheered as they passed by in their vehicles.

Now that restrictions are beginning to ease, graduates will once again be donning gowns and mortarboards and lining up to receive their diplomas at area community colleges.

“We are so proud of all our community college graduates, who have had to navigate a new way of learning during the pandemic,” said Carlos Cortez, chancellor of the San Diego Community College District and chair of the San Diego and Imperial Counties Community College Association. “We’re looking forward to honoring their achievements and sharing in their joy at their accomplishments.”

The first community college commencement ceremony in the region will be held May 20, with ceremonies continuing through June 15. The full schedule is below.

San Diego Miramar College: 10 a.m. May 20, at Compass Point on campus.

San Diego City College: 5 p.m. May 26, Balboa Park Organ Pavilion.

Southwestern College: May 27, DeVore Stadium on campus. Ceremonies being held at 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.

San Diego Mesa College: 4 p.m. May 27, at the Merrill Douglas Stadium on campus. 

MiraCosta College: 5 p.m. May 27, Athletic Track and Field on campus. 

Palomar College: 5 p.m. May 27, Football Field and Track on campus. 

Cuyamaca College: 5:30 p.m. June 8, on campus at the Samuel M. Ciccati Performing Arts Center on campus. 

Grossmont College: 9:30 a.m. June 9, at Parking Lot 1, facing the Performing & Visual Arts Center on campus.

Imperial Valley College: June 11, on campus, DePaoli Gymnasium. Ceremonies being held at 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. 

San Diego College of Continuing Education: 5 p.m. June 15, Balboa Park Organ Pavilion.

Each of the graduates who walk across the stage at their college’s commencement ceremony has a unique story to tell about the challenges and obstacles they overcame to earn their degrees and certificates. Here are the stories of a few of the graduates who will be honored.

From the military to San Diego Miramar College

Navy veteran Amor Carchano will be among the San Diego Miramar College graduation class of 2022. Carchano, 32, enrolled at Miramar College after four years of military service, and 2 years working in the field of engineering. The Washington native was a nuclear machinist on board the USS Carl Vinson before leaving the Navy.

Over his three years at Miramar College, Carchano was a member of the Associated Student Government and could be found volunteering dozens of hours a week at the college’s Jet Fuel food pantry. He was also active in the Student Veterans Club and Club Spectrum, Miramar’s LGBTQ+ club.

Carchano will graduate with a pair of Associate of Arts degrees in Business and Behavioral Sciences, and will be transferring to San Diego State University. He will be pursuing a degree in Gender Studies, and hopes to complete his Ph.D. in Gender Studies.

 

 

 

A high school and college graduate 

Lucia Cavallini-Martinez will graduate with a high school diploma from East Village Middle College High School (EVMCHS) and three associate degrees from San Diego City College.

Cavallini-Martinez, 17, will be earning an Associate in Arts Degree in Elementary Multiple Subject Teaching Preparation, an Associate of Arts Degree in Language Arts and Humanities, and an Associate of Arts Degree in Social and Behavioral Sciences from City College.

At her high school, Cavallini-Martinez volunteers for the Associated Student Body, yearbook, and an environmental community service club. At City College, she attends the tutoring center for academic support and is involved with the Associated Students Government and the Math, Engineering, Science Achievement Program. 

Cavallini-Martinez has been named the Class of 2022 valedictorian at her high school for their commencement in June, in addition to participating in the City College commencement.

Cavallini-Martinez has been accepted to the University of California, Berkeley. At UC Berkeley, she will study public health and bioengineering as a next step to becoming a physician anesthesiologist.

She plans to pursue a career in public health, inspired by medical problems that her mother suffers. She also looks forward to connecting with her heritage as a first-generation student with family from Oaxaca, Mexico. 

Finding his focus at Southwestern College 

Jose Chinas found his passion for education thanks to his counselors and professors at Southwestern College. Admittedly unfocused upon high school graduation, Chinas initially enrolled in auto mechanic classes and then switched to culinary arts. He took two semesters off, but jumped in with both feet when he returned, enrolling in the Puente learning community. It was in Puente that his counselors gave him the confidence to transfer to a university.

He also discovered the Developing Effective bilingual Educators with Resources (DEBER) program, a partnership with San Diego State University to create a pipeline of bilingual educators. Chinas now wants to be an elementary school teacher in a dual immersion program.

“My counselors and professors help me a lot, and I want to do something like that for other students,” said Chinas, adding he had never thought about higher education until enrolling in Puente. 

Chinas now has his pick of universities, having been admitted to San Diego State University, UC Riverside, UC Irvine and UC San Diego.

 

From Ethiopia to a degree at San Diego Mesa College

San Diego Mesa College student Johar Zuber was born in a remote rural area of Ethiopia, where subsistence agriculture was the predominant way of life. As such, he was encouraged to become a farmer and herder.

Zuber, who had not been taught how to read, was inspired to seek another path by a friend who was attending school, and reading out loud. At 29 years old, he moved to San Diego and enrolled in classes at Mesa College “because it is one of the most successful academic institutions in California.”

At Mesa, has been an active member of the Black and African American Student Club, and in 2021 he was awarded the Dietschman Scholarship. After graduating from Mesa, he will transfer to either UC San Diego or San Diego State University and pursue a career in Health Information Management.

 

 

 

 

Finding purpose for his life at MiraCosta College 

Ruben Garcia, the student speaker at MiraCosta College’s commencement, saw his life change on November 17, 1995. That was the day he was caught in a drive-by shooting, getting hit by three bullets that left him a paraplegic. Just 17 years old, Ruben had to learn to adjust to a new world from his wheelchair. Garcia had dropped out of Vista High School and was the father of a young child, with a second one on the way, when he was struck by bullets from a passing driver while in the back seat of a car. 

He spent three months in the hospital and had to learn basic skills so he could become more independent. In 2013, Garcia began attending MiraCosta College to help him deal with the psychological effects of his situation. 

“I had a new purpose,” Garcia said. “It gave me confidence and the people were very, very helpful.”

Garcia, now 43, will be receiving an associate degree in communications and has been accepted at Cal State San Marcos, where he plans to earn a bachelor’s degree in communications. 

 

 

 

Making an impression at Palomar College

From her stellar academics in STEM and pre-nursing programs to her service as the Governing Board’s student trustee, Rachel Alazar graduates having made a vivid impression at Palomar College. 

Arriving in 2018, Alazar quickly made a name for herself in the variety of extracurricular activities she pursued. In addition to representing the student body on the Governing Board, she served as president of the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society, as a peer mentor in Palomar’s Promise Program, and as a musician with the Pacific Coast Concert Band. 

Now Alazar has been accepted into the highly competitive University of California at Los Angeles School of Nursing – one of 18 students accepted from a pool of more than 400 applicants this year. 

“I knew from the beginning that I wanted to be a part of the student life at the college,” Alazar said. “Palomar made it possible for me to take advantage of a lot of opportunities that helped me get into UCLA.”

 

 

 

 

 

A talented writer earns her associate degrees at Cuyamaca and Grossmont colleges

Darlene Fahl-Brittian is graduating with an associate degree in English from Cuyamaca College and an associate degree in Creative Writing from Grossmont College. She plans to pursue a bachelor’s degree in English at SDSU with plans to seek a master’s degree in creative writing.

With a 3.89 grade point average, Fahl-Brittian is graduating with honors. She is the author of three children’s books and a fourth book about tea and meditation, all sold on Amazon under the name of Dharlene Marie Fahl. 

She has also been a retail gift shop owner, a restaurant general manager and director of training for a restaurant group. A tea expert certified by the Specialty Tea Institute of America, she has traveled the world, touring tea fields and giving seminars at tea forums in India, China, and Japan. 

Locally, she brings tea parties to senior communities to share her knowledge and stories. In 2016, she received the President’s Lifetime Achievement Award for Volunteer Service, with her certificate signed by President Barack Obama.

Married to a retired Navy commander, Fahl-Brittian and her children were able to attend college through her husband’s GI Bill benefits. She is grateful for the support and encouragement she received from Cuyamaca College’s Veteran’s Resource Center. 

The mother of two and one of seven brothers and sisters, Fahl-Brittian will be the first of her siblings to earn a college degree.

Son inspires Grossmont College graduate

Tatiana Robinson, student speaker at the Grossmont College commencement, is a first-generation college student. She started college in 2009 when she was 19 years old, but left for lack of interest and to enter the job market. 

“It wasn’t until my son was born that I realized I wanted more for myself so I could give my son the best life possible, so I set a goal for myself to go back to college,” Robinson said. 

At Grossmont College, she found herself more focused, more determined, and more driven. Supported by a bevy of campus programs, the full-time mother, full-time student and full-time worker will be graduating with a 4.0 grade point average and two associate degrees. She will be transferring to San Diego State University to pursue a bachelor’s degree in communications. 

“I share my story in the hopes that it will inspire others to believe in themselves and work hard and persevere even when it seems the cards are stacked against them,” she said. 

 

 

 

 

Learning a new trade at San Diego College of Continuing Education

Samantha Marasigan, 38, a former nursing student, will graduate with seven industrial trades certificates from San Diego College of Continuing Education (SDCCE). After high school, Marasigan attended nursing school to honor her parents’ wishes for her to become a healthcare professional. After attempting a handful of jobs in the medical field she felt stuck. Her family immigrated to the United States from the Philippines in 1979 after her father enlisted in the U.S. Navy.

Marasigan looks up to her late grandfather, who inspired a new career path in the skilled and technical trades. She enrolled into the automotive certificate program at SDCCE in 2019. 

Following the completion of four automotive certificates at SDCCE - Quick Service Inspection Technician, Service Advisor, Auto Body and Paint Technician and Auto Technician - Marasigan planned to transition to San Diego Miramar College. Due to campus closures caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, pursuing an automotive degree had to wait, which crushed her spirits as she was only a few credits away from earning a degree.

When the welding program returned to SDCCE as a partially online option, Marasigan decided to give metal fabrication a try. In addition to graduating from the automotive program, Marasigan has completed three welding certificates including SMAW (Shielded Metal Arc welding), GMAW (gas metal arc welding), FCAW (flux cored arc welding), and will finish the TIGW (Tungsten Inert Gas Welding) program in the fall. 

After obtaining her final welding certificate, Marasigan has her sights set on transitioning to San Diego Miramar College to finally earn an Associate of Science Degree in Automotive Technology.

A bright future for an Imperial Valley College graduate

Daniela Hernandez has led a busy life during her time at Imperial Valley College. A graduate of Calexico High School, Hernandez’s activities at Imperial Valley College include serving as vice president of the Association Students Government, softball, and band. She works at her former high school as a college readiness coach, helping students prepare for higher education. 

"My experience at IVC has been nothing but filled with pure support and motivation by my peers, professors, coaches and all faculty that I got to work with," she said. 

Hernandez will receive a degree in Political Science and will be transferring to San Diego State University, where she plans to get a bachelor’s degree. She hopes to earn a master’s degree in Educational Leadership and work at a community college or four-year university.