The Whittier College family continues to celebrate its class of 2015 as the Ortiz Programs and the Cultural Center held its 14th Annual Latino Graduates Celebration on May 9. Families and friends of 80 Whittier College students packed the Shannon Center for the Performing Arts to take part in a bilingual ceremony filled with gratitude, passionate speeches, and great entertainment performances.
Gustavo Geirola, professor of modern languages welcomed the audience in Spanish while President Sharon Herzberger welcomed them in English. President Herzberger also took this opportunity to congratulate the graduates and wished their mothers an early happy Mother’s Day and did so in Spanish.
The event was much of a homecoming for Cecilia Santiago-González '02, the keynote speaker for the celebration. The Director of Enrollment and One-Stop Services at Cal Poly Pomona, a Latina, and first one in her family to go to college shared her memories of the first Whittier College Latino Graduates Celebration in 2002 when it was held in Hoover 100.
“There were only a handful of us Latino graduates and I remember my mom couldn’t attend the celebration,” said Santiago-González. “It’s wonderful to see how much it has grown.”
Growing up in South Central Los Angeles, Santiago-González attended the most impoverished schools in the district and wasn’t exposed to the importance of getting a college education. In fact, she didn’t know anyone that had a college degree. It wasn’t until her high school graduation when her friend recommended Whittier College and she decided to apply without ever visiting the campus.
“It was the best decision I ever made,” said Santiago-González.
As a college student Santiago-González fully dedicated herself to her classes and her work at the Office of Admission and Cultural Center. But before all that, she had to travel from home to Whittier and did so by taking four different buses to drop off her younger sister Angie and then finally getting to Whittier College.
“We have come full circle,” she said. “My sister Angie is now a first year student here at Whittier.”
Santiago-González encouraged the students to be grateful to everyone who had a part in their college success. “Make sure to recognize your family members, friends, neighbors, and everyone in your life who opened and kicked doors for you,” she said.
Ruby Acevedo '15, one of the student speakers highlighted the advantages and slight disadvantages of having small classes at Whittier. She said that coming from a small town, Whittier felt like home because of the ability of making connections with professors and other students.
The slight disadvantage is that professors notice when you don’t go to class. “One day I overslept and was late for my freshman seminar," said Acevedo. “Professor Zappia had momentarily left the classroom to get something and I sneaked in hoping he wouldn’t notice. He did notice. I was never late to class after that.”
Many of the student speakers thanked the staff and resources at the Cultural Center for their support as they navigated their way through college. They were especially grateful for the unwavering support of Luz Galbreath, director of the Cultural Center and Andrianna Martinez, interim assistant director of the Cultural Center.
The festive atmosphere of the event was perfectly complemented with opening and closing entertainment performances. The group of dancers Copali Copili opened the celebration with an elaborate Aztec ceremony filled with drum-inspired music and dancing. To mark the end of the Latino Graduates Celebration, the band Mariachi Alma de Jalisco took the stage and played several traditional Mexican songs. For one of songs, Nayely Mirella Limon '15, one of the graduates, joined in at the front of the stage and she sang with the band to the delight of the crowd.
As Santiago-González was taking off her “funny doctor hat” as she calls it, she reminded students about the inequitable enrollment and degree-attainment rates for Latinos. “Latinos account for only 0.2% of doctoral degrees,” she said. “That’s a sobering statistic.
“As the next business owner, teacher, mathematician, doctor or lawyer… what are you going to do for our brothers and sisters?” said Santiago-González. “We can’t be bystanders for these issues or any issues. We need to act and think critically.”
Did you miss the celebration? See more photos and video of the event.
