On Wednesday, May 22, Berkeley City College celebrated the
Class of 2024 at its Commencement Ceremony at Zellerbach
Hall on UC Berkeley’s Campus. Berkeley City College conferred
1,109 awards including AA’s, AS’s, AD-T, and Certificates of
Achievement, Competency, Completion, and Proficiency to 612
graduates. Through hard work and great support from faculty,
classified professionals, and administration, BCC’s number of
graduates increased by 13% from the previous year with
544 graduates. The diversity of the Class of 2024 graduates
includes 30% Latinx, 20% White, 19% Asian, 19% Black/African
American, 9% Two or More, 3% Unknown, and .5% Pacific
Islander students.
“Berkeley City College’s 2024 Graduation was immensely
inspiring! To see so many of our graduates and their families
glowing with pride and joy was a heartwarming reminder
of how profoundly meaningful our work is,” said President
Richardson. “This year the theme our graduates chose was
ambition. I am so proud that our students have used their
ambition to advance themselves and our community as we
continue our pursuit of academic excellence and social justice.”
This year’s theme was AMBITION, selected by the ASBCC.
Thank you to all the speakers, especially Valedictorian Derek
Carver and Salutatorian Jennifer Fong, who offered inspiring
words of their journey through adversity and perseverance to
achieve their academic goals. This year’s President’s Medallion
and Chancellor’s Trophy Winner is Student Trustee Natasha
Masand, and the Inspiration Award winner was Oluwatunmise
Akanle. Big thanks to Berkeley City College’s Commencement
Committee, chaired by John Nguyen, and members Michael
Alvillar, Luis Chavez, Amy Lee, Gail Pendleton, Vanessa
Phillip, Thomas Rizza, Stacey Shears, Jasmine Sumandal,
and Susan Truong