Congratulations, Class of 2021!

As College of the Canyons Chancellor, there is no other day I look forward to more than graduation day.
That was particularly true this year.
After our students had been away from campus for more than a year, we were all thrilled that the college was able to celebrate the achievements of our graduating students in person June 2-5!
What was even more thrilling and special about this year’s graduation was how students were able to celebrate in the presence of their friends and family. Students were able to not only walk across the graduate stage, but they were also able to bring their loved ones on stage and have pictures taken together. It’s a graduation year that I will never forget.
What the Class of 2021 achieved was amazing and worthy of recognition. In a period of uncertainty and unpredictability, students jumped in and figured things out, were persistent day in and day out, stayed true to themselves, and got through barriers while designing and imagining their futures.
Even after more than a year of learning online, students continued to demonstrate academic excellence. More than 900 students graduated with honors — which requires a 3.5 GPA or higher — and 123 students graduated with perfect 4.0 GPAs, which granted them the status of valedictorians at the college.
Though different from how College of the Canyons traditionally celebrates Commencement, this year’s graduation walk-through ceremonies were a fitting recognition of what we have overcome together in the past 15 months. It honored the effort of our students in the face of adversity, their willingness to persevere when faced with challenges, and their ability to focus and push forward to accomplish their goals. At the same time, our commencement ceremonies gave our students the opportunity to look forward with hope and to anticipate their successes that lie ahead.
The Class of 2021 joins elite company – the countless graduates who have earned degrees since our first Commencement in 1970 and who have gone on to achieve success and set standards of excellence in education, medicine, law, business, athletics, architecture, construction, entertainment, government, science, nursing and more.
This class of graduates will add to that rich legacy through their own achievements. I, along with our college’s administrators, board members, professors, and staff, not only salute their current accomplishments, but also look forward to what we know will be amazing achievements in their future. Con
Sometimes the most important lessons aren’t learned from books, but from what we experience in life. And the past months have been rich with experience! The pandemic forced our students out of their routines and comfort zones. Faced with ever-present ambiguity and continued uncertainty, they learned to adapt and do things they never imagined doing. Our students had to adjust quickly to remote learning and they succeeded!
The members of the Class of 2021 not only overcame the challenges brought by the pandemic, but they also became more resilient, creative, flexible, and confident. In reaching this moment, 2021 COC graduates have proven to themselves, and to others, that what they are capable of accomplishing is only limited by their dreams and imagination!
I look forward to seeing the mighty things the members of the College of the Canyons Class of 2021 will accomplish. They have the power to be the change they want to see in our world and make it better!
I know they will make us all proud and serve as inspiring examples to future graduates as they achieve their goals and make their dreams come true.
Congratulations to all of our graduates for staying the course and never giving up. The best is yet to come!