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Vanguard University has offered degrees for licensed and registered nursessince 2006. But in 2018, it started its first pre-licensure program, which pre-pares undergraduate students to take the exam to become licensed nursesupon graduation.

The students of the Class of 2020 are the first graduates of that program.But like all other graduates in the nation, they won’t have a physical com-mencement ceremony at this time.

Vanguard President Michael Beals said that the school took a survey, andseniors responded that they didn’t want to do a virtual commencement. Thein-person ceremony, initially scheduled for May 7, will be postponed to a lat-er, undetermined date.

In the meantime, the Costa Mesa-based university had a celebratory Zoomevent for seniors, and Beals sent handwritten notes to the more than 500graduates.

Andrew Bailey, one of the 24 graduates from the nursing pre-licensure pro-gram, said many of his fellow students are feeling anxiety about their school-ing coming to an end amid the pandemic.

After taking their licensing exams this summer, these nurses will be thrustinto hospitals dealing with COVID-19 patients.

“It’s totally unprecedented being in nursing school and graduating, and aglobal pandemic hits,” Bailey said. “Within our group, people are having anxi-ety just in the finality. We are such a tight-knit group.”

He said it’s bittersweet that he can’t celebrate with his family, alongside hisclassmates.

“We know we are doing the right thing in staying home, but it’s hard be-cause it’s something so huge in our lives,” Bailey said. “That sense of comple-tion isn’t there right now.”

How can colleges best help their graduating students celebrate this impor-tant milestone in their lives?

This is a question that Vanguard, and many colleges across the world, areasking, as it became clear that it wouldn’t be safe to have large gatherings —or to ask family members to travel — during May and June.

Soka University in Aliso Viejo and Fullerton College also polled their stu-dents and found that they weren’t interested in a virtual commencement cer-emony.

In an email to students last week, Soka University’s Dean of Students HyonJ. Moon announced that the university will gift each graduating student a cap,gown and stole that will be mailed to them, instead. They will also launch apage on their the university’s website where any community members, in-cluding their alumni, can send a video, picture and message to congratulatethe Class of 2020.

A team at Fullerton College will be putting together 800 care packages forgraduating students, 600 of which will be mailed and 200 will be available at adrive-through pick-up. They will include caps and gowns, tassels, diplomacovers, license plate frames, water bottles — what the graduates would havegotten if they had a ceremony, which will now likely be postponed until next

Photo Illustration by Greg Diaz | Staff Designer

Virtual ceremonies, care packages andonline yearbooks: O.C. colleges findcreative ways to toast Class of 2020.BY BEN BRAZIL, VERA CASTANEDA, ADA TSENG

Courtesy of Vanguard University

THE 24 STUDENTS in Vanguard University’s nursing pre-licensure program,which started in 2018, will be its first graduating class. Andrew Bailey, in theback under the exit sign, says graduating without a physical commencementceremony due to the coronavirus pandemic is bittersweet.

See Class, page R5

SUNDAY, MAY 17, 2020 /// Times Community News publication serving Orange County /// timesoc.com

R2 SUNDAY, MAY 17, 2020 TIMESOC WWW.TIMESOC.COM

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At community collegesand four-year universities,students looked forward toperforming the last rite rit-uals of their higher educa-tion years before launch-ing into the next phase oftheir lives.

They shared news whenthey received acceptancenotifications from uni-versities they hoped theywould attend. Others areclose to finishing degreesthat will checkmark the re-quired portion of theirdream job descriptions.

But the coronavirus out-break disrupted theirplans.

Not only did studentsadjust to learning exclu-sively online in self-isola-tion, they also had to livewith uncertainty during anera with an end-of-timesvibe — questioningwhether to postpone theirtransfer start dates or car-ing for family memberswho tested positive for thecoronavirus while balanc-ing classes and jobs.

TimesOC checked inwith five O.C.-based stu-dents to find out how theirlast semesters are shapingup and what the next fewmonths could have instore.

AUSTIN SALCEDOAustin Salcedo, a 25-

year-old U.S. Marine, saidhe was euphoric when hefound out he was acceptedinto Stanford Universitylast Friday.

The OCC natural sciencemajor plans to study neu-roscience and go into re-search.

“I stumbled onto psy-chology books, and I reallyjust fell in love with thecontent,” Salcedo said. “Ifound it extremely inter-esting how our brainworks and how none ofour brains are the same, ina sense.”

He was also acceptedinto a summer researchfellowship through a YaleUniversity program. Sincethe campus is closed, hewas given the option todefer the program to nextyear. So instead, after fi-nals he is heading home tohis family in Miami. As forStanford, he is anxious andunsure about whether topostpone his enrollmentto another quarter.

“I’ve been having a hardtime with the online tran-sition. So if I’m going to goto Stanford, I’d reallyrather it be in-person,”Salcedo said.

He later added that he’sbeen “fighting off a lot of

anxiety and depressiondue to all of the uncer-tainty in our lives rightnow.”

Salcedo finds himselfstaring at a screen not be-ing able to stay focused.It’s difficult for him to de-velop a routine whilestudying from home. Hedropped one out of threecourses because it washard to keep up.

His advice to currentand incoming students,who will most likely con-tinue with online learning,is to take it easy on your-self and reach out tofriends and family to vent.

SYDNEY ROBERTSGolden West psychology

major Sydney Roberts isCal State Long Beach-bound.

Since the Golden Westcampus closed to studentsand Roberts isn’t part offederal work study, herstudent assistant gig driedup. She is currently finish-ing six classes while work-ing at an auto shop as anassistant.

She felt the impact ofquarantine when shecouldn’t visit universitiesas she considered where totransfer.

It’s why she chose acampus familiar to her.Roberts will continue tostudy online in the fall, asall Cal State Universitycampuses opted to cancel

the majority of in-personclasses.

“It’s definitely a strug-gle,” she said. “I mean, wehave to do what we have todo to follow our dreams.But going to a new school,not knowing anyone, notknowing professors orcounselors — it’s definitelygoing to be a challenge.”

Roberts has made manyconnections on the Gold-en West campus, with hercounselors and her peersthrough the college’sLGBTQ club, Gender LoveAcceptance Sexuality Alli-ance.

As the president of theclub, she helped switch itsPride Prom to a virtualevent, which was held lastweek. There was dancing,a live DJ, caricature artist,tarot card readers andgames.

OSCAR FLORESCal State Fullerton pub-

lic relations student OscarFlores is enrolled full-timewhile working two intern-ships — one at the collegeand another at a NewportBeach marketing agency.

Although the marketingagency internship wassupposed to end in April,they agreed he could con-tinue working there untilhe found a job. When thepandemic hit, planschanged and he was let go.

Thursday was his lastday of classes, but he saidhe feels like learningstopped mid-March sincehe’s averse to online

classes.Last week, Flores started

digging into the job mar-ket.

“Options aren’t the best,but I mean that comeswith everything that’s go-ing on,” he said. “Every-thing in the state is open-ing in phases. With therebeing a limited number ofjobs and so many peopleapplying for those jobs, it’sthe perfect opportunity forme to try something newthat differentiates me fromthe rest.”

He considered graduateschool, but it was too lateto apply and didn’t thinkadding more student loandebt was in his best inter-est. Instead he’s looking tofree virtual resources tobeef up his resume andskills. Flores recentlytuned into an online panelabout virtual job inter-viewing etiquette.

Luckily, the savings he’searned working full timewhile going to school willhold him over the next fewmonths of quarantine.

DANIEL TSENTSIPERDaniel Tsentsiper is still

trying to decide betweentransferring to UCLA orUC Berkeley. The 20-year-old Irvine Valley student isstudying business admin-istration and expects to fo-cus on finance.

His favorite part of theday is taking a walkaround North Lake inIrvine to clear his head af-ter finishing online classsessions.

He’s fasting in solidaritywith his Muslim friends forRamadan and joins themin the evenings. Tsentsiper

completes his school workwhile his friends pray, andthen they work out to-gether.

Sticking to a routine hashelped Tsentsiper adjustto online courses, but he’snervous about whetherthe UC classes in fall willcontinue to be online.

“I’m the type of studentthat loves to be in class,”he said. “My major is veryphysical, hands-on, a lotof relationship building, alot of seeing people face toface. That’s been really dif-ficult for me.”

He tuned into a UCBerkeley webinar in whichsix professors discussedhow they faced the 2008recession. Their answerwas to be flexible.

Tsentsiper is furloughedfrom his LA Fitness per-sonal training job and anon-campus tutoring job.He also postponed a sum-mer finance internship, atrip to Japan and a birth-right trip to Israel.

“My plan is just to learnthis summer,” he said. “I’llbe able to learn a new skillor get acclimated with theuniversity I’m choosing bytaking their courses.”

His advice to graduatesas well as incoming com-munity college students isto use the resources avail-able, whether it’s academ-ic, career or socioemo-tional counseling.

“This is a humbling ex-perience because in thepast few months I’ve beenasking for the help and I’vebeen getting the help,” hesaid. “I’ve actually signedup for a therapist at IVC.I’ve never been to therapybefore, but now I haveweekly meetings with her.”

AMANDA FUENTESSoon-to-be Chapman

grad, Amanda Fuentes hadto move from on-campushousing back to her familyhome in Azusa when theuniversity shut down.

“Moving back was verytough. I had to get used toa new environment in themiddle of the school year,”she said. “Simple thingslike a place to study, aplace to do your home-work was difficult.”

On top of the changes,she is caring for hermother who tested pos-itive for the coronavirus.Her mother is starting torecover, but the family isstill wearing face masks allthe time, constantlycleaning and keeping adistance from each otherwithin the home.

“I’m super proud of my-self,” she said. “I realizedthat I’m capable of a lotmore than I thought be-fore this entire pandemichappened.”

She reached out to hercolleagues at the uni-versity career center whereshe interns as a marketingassistant; a career advisor;and her mentor at herother part-time internshipto let them know what wasgoing on.

She said their support,along with family andfriends who delivered gro-ceries, helped her feel lessstressed.

Her summer internshipat an entertainment com-pany is canceled, and she’sjob searching.

Working at an on-cam-pus career center has pro-vided intel on how to net-work and use LinkedIn.She is interviewing for po-sitions that weren’t postedonline.

“If you have a mentor,reach out to them,” shesaid. “They will supportyou like no other. They’rethe reason why I havebeen able to be so moti-vated during this time. Ifyou don’t have a mentor,find one in a career centeror professor.”

HOW 5 O.C. COLLEGE STUDENTS DEALWITH THEUNCERTAINTY IN EDUCATION AND THE JOB MARKETBY VERA CASTANEDA

Daniel Tsentsiper

Sydney Roberts

Oscar Flores

Amanda Fuentes

Austin Salcedo

[email protected]: @vera_fyd

WWW.TIMESOC.COM TIMESOC SUNDAY, MAY 17, 2020 R3

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Workshops at the Cal State Ful-lerton career center usually at-tract up to 20 or 30 participants,said Elizabeth Zavala-Acevez, thecenter’s director.

Their meeting rooms aren’t bigenough to hold more than that.

But now that they’ve transi-tioned all their services online,they often have over 100 peopletuning into their sessions at once.

Zavala-Acevez said the CSUFstudents are more engaged withtheir job search than ever.

Part of it is because they aresheltering in place and have fewerdistractions. But it’s also becausethey have to be.

They are entering a job marketwhere roughly 36 million Ameri-cans have filed for unemploy-ment in the last two months dueto coronavirus-related closures.

But career advisors at Cal StateFullerton, Chapman Universityand UC Irvine want to emphasizethat employers are still hiring.The career centers are updatingtheir job boards, so students caneasily see any immediate open-ings. They are locating intern-ships that are being offered re-motely because of the pandemic.They are setting up virtual jobfairs. They are inviting employersand alumni to do Zoom inter-views and information sessionswith students.

It will be more competitivenow, but it was always competi-tive, Zavala-Acevez said.

“Our message is that thoughthe nation is on pause, your ca-reer shouldn’t be,” she said.

Eric Spangenberg, dean andprofessor at the UCI Paul MerageSchool of Business, said nowmore than ever, the school isleaning into their tagline, “Lead-ership for a Digitally DrivenWorld.”

“The philosophy of the MerageSchool is that we must adapt our-selves and businesses for the dis-ruption inherent in the digital en-vironment,” he said. “This is whywe reframed our curricula to givestudents the frameworks and an-alytical skills to lead throughthese transformative moments.”

“Students need to be preparedthat if you are actively job search-ing, this is the space that you’re

going to be doing it for a while,”Zavala-Acevez said. “You’ll haveto interview via Zoom, your offerwill be via Zoom, you’re going tohave to be on-boarded via Zoom,and in some cases, you’ll beworking remotely.”

She emphasized that it’s impor-tant to think about how to makethe best impression in a virtualspace.

This includes thinking aboutthe lighting, background and howyou dress for your Zoom inter-views, but it’s also about figuringout how to network online andthrough social media.

“You can search by alumnithrough LinkedIn, so college stu-dents who want to get into an or-ganization can easily figure outwhich alumni are working there,”she said. “You don’t want to say‘Hey, I’m job searching,’ but may-be you can message ‘Titan to Ti-tan, would love to connect’ andreach out for an informational in-terview over Zoom or phone.”

“You have to strategize, buildout networks and find good jobleads,” said Susan Chang, the as-sistant director of career educa-tion at Chapman University’s Of-fice of Career and ProfessionalDevelopment. “Having an insidetrack is more important now thanever.”

Blindly applying to as manyplaces as possible might not getyou anywhere in this economy,she said.

“The fundamentals are thesame,” said Cynthia Rude, execu-tive director of UCI MerageSchool of Business’ career center.“Reach out to professionals to setup informational interviews to es-tablish your network, make surethe resume and cover letter yousend out are tailored to the posi-tion you are applying for, andwhen you are in the interviewseat, have the confidence to ownyour story and narrative and ar-ticulate why you are you the bestperson for the role.”

But this might also be a goodtime to think about how to “up-skill,” she said, referring to pursu-ing certificates or trainings thatwill give you a leg up in the jobsearch.

“We will all be connectedthrough this shared pandemic ex-perience, so when you are in the

interview seat, it would not hurtto share how you leveraged thepandemic experience to hone inon specific skill sets that makeyou the best candidate for therole,” Rude said.

Zavala-Acevez has also seen anuptick in interest in their work-shops about graduate schools.

But overall, Chang emphasizedthat during a pandemic, it’s im-portant for graduates to be flex-ible and to adjust their expecta-tions.

“I think a lot of students feelpressured when they graduate tohave everything figured out, tofind their dream company ordream job,” she said. “So we’rejust relieving that pressure andencouraging them to be open. Welive in a gig economy nowadays,so we know that students changejobs throughout their careers,much more than ever … So theydon’t have to find their foreverjob, just a position that buildstheir skills and sets them up forthe future.”

Rude agreed about the impor-tance of students expanding thetypes of opportunities they areopen to.

“Understanding how yourtransferable skills can benefitmultiple industries is time wellspent and one of the most impor-tant ways in which we work withstudents,” she said.

“You have to be realistic about

what you’re looking for and yourtimeline,” Chang added. “If youknow you’re interested in an in-dustry that’s not hiring right now… do you want to wait that out,or do you want to look at otheroptions? I think for everyone, thatdecision is going to be a little bitdifferent.”

Zavala-Acevez, who has beenwith CSUF’s career center for 14years, remembers counseling stu-dents during the 2008 recession.

During more difficult times,employers have the upper hand,and they can be very selective,she explained.

But just a couple of years later,it flipped, and students startedhaving the upper hand. Employ-ers were telling the staff at the ca-reer center they couldn’t keeptheir new hires, who leave as soonas they find a better offer.

Chang hopes it’s reassuring fornew graduates to understand thatthe economy is often in flux andeveryone has ups and downs intheir careers.

She has spent the majority ofher career working in human re-sources, hiring people. She’s laidpeople off. She’s been laid off.She’s learned to enjoy the bumpsin the road.

“Don’t feel set back by any onething that happens to you in yourcareer,” Chang said. “There aredefinitely silver linings at the endof the day, different ways of get-

ting to your endpoint. Or youmight find that you like some-thing else more along the way ...Being able to work through thoseadversities and be flexible, thoseare valuable life skills that serveyou well in just about any careerthat you can go into.”

Most of all, the staff and coun-selors at college career centerswant students to know that theyare there for them.

“Maintaining access and afriendly face in order to avoid iso-lation with our students has beena major goal for us during thistime,” Rude said.

Chang said summers are usu-ally slower because students aregone, but this summer, they areplanning to ramp up their serv-ices, available for Chapmanalumni of all career levels.

Zavala-Acevez said they polledtheir CSUF students to ask whatdate they preferred to have theirvirtual career fair.

The overwhelming responsewas: after finals.

“The implication behind thatis: We’re stressed,” she said. “Oncethey finish the semester, they willprobably start looking more heav-ily into job-searching, and hope-fully that’s when things start pick-ing up a little bit more. One thingat a time.”

Job-searching during a pandemicLocal career advisors are guiding their graduates

BYADATSENG

[email protected]: @adatseng

Courtesy of UCIPaul MerageSchool ofBusiness

STUDENTSHANGout outside theUCI Paul MerageSchool ofBusinessbuilding beforethe pandemic.As graduationapproaches,their careercenter, likeothers acrossO.C., are helpingstudentsnavigate theuncertain jobmarket.

R4 SUNDAY, MAY 17, 2020 TIMESOC WWW.TIMESOC.COM

O n March 17, the OrangeCounty health officer ordereda ban on all public and private

gatherings to mitigate the spread ofthe coronavirus. But the very nextday, she backtracked, explaining itwasn’t meant to be a shutdown orderand that businesses could continueoperating as long as they followedsocial distancing guidelines.

Months later, we now know thatnonessential businesses would beordered to close. But amid the confu-sion, the Irvine Fine Arts Center wasinstalling its annual high schoolexhibit that featured artwork fromseven schools in Irvine: Arnold O.Beckman High School, Crean Lu-theran High School, Irvine HighSchool, Northwood High School,Portola High School, University HighSchool and Woodbridge High School.

It was scheduled to open March 20with an opening party. Judges, guestartists Threadwinners, a fiber artistduo, would announce the prizewin-ners, and the high schoolers wouldbe able to celebrate their work withtheir classmates, friends and family.

The installation was finished onMarch 18 and planned to runthrough April 11. Even as the closingdate approached, there was somehope that it could be extended fur-ther. But when it became clear thatthe Irvine Fine Arts Center would beclosed indefinitely during the unpre-dictable crisis, they took the artworkdown. Nobody saw it.

“It is so great that the Irvine FineArts Center opens its gallery doors toallow students to showcase theirwork,” said Liz Flynn of Threadwin-ners. “When I was in high school, wehad shows on pop-up walls or in ourlibrary, which was great, but this is anactual established gallery. It’s neces-sary but unfortunate that the open-ing couldn’t happen, because that isalso part of the experience of show-ing at a gallery.”

The staff at the Irvine Fine ArtsCenter is especially proud of thisannual exhibit, because it’s often thefirst opportunity for many youngartists to show their work in a profes-sional gallery setting.

What these young artists addressin their artwork is “meaningful, validand adds to a rich and broad culturalconversation,” reads the official state-ment from the gallery. “Themes ofidentity, family, community, commu-nication, and broader social issuestend to come through in many of theworks.”

“This year, Threadwinners wereinvited to jury the exhibition due tothe approachable nature of theirpractice and their advocacy for artseducation,” the statement continues.“We were hopeful that students whoare endeavoring with nontraditionalmaterials, and who are interested in aplayful and unconventional ap-proach to art making, would be in-spired by the paths that Threadwin-ners have taken.”

Alyssa Arney of Threadwinnersgrew up in rural Indiana, and shesays she was blown away by theartwork made by high school stu-dents in Southern California.

“Here it’s different, because every-one is affiliated with the arts,” shesaid. “The high talent is just there.Everything is top-notch, compellingand very skillfully done. You justdon’t see this type of output in a lotof places.”

There were over 192 pieces of art inthe show. Here is just a small selec-tion of the work.

— Ada Tseng

THIRD PLACEwent to Thomas Cho of Crean LutheranHigh School for his acrylic on a tent, titled "Barricade."

PORTOLA HIGH‘S Cathy Li's untitled acrylic on canvas. NORTHWOODHIGH’SKatarinaHanks' "BestFootForward." UNIVERSITYHIGH’SKainSosa’sphoto “Figure toGround.”

Photos courtesy of Irvine Fine Arts Center

IRVINE FINE Arts Center’sannual high school exhibit.

Irvine teens exhibit their talents

CREANLUTHERANHigh SchoolstudentKevin Lee’sembroidereddress.

SECONDPLACEwent to

Maddy Nohfrom PortolaHigh School

for her digitalphotography

titled"Multiple

Perspectives."

Courtesy of Rachel KimFIRSTPLACEwent to IrvineHigh’sRachelKimforher colorpencil drawing “Inseparability.”

ON THE WEBGo to TimesOC.com to see morephotos from the exhibit.

WWW.TIMESOC.COM TIMESOC SUNDAY, MAY 17, 2020 R5

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year.Fullerton College will also

launch a special com-mencement website on May22 with photos and video tohonor the graduates, in-cluding a video that featurestheir 70-student choir.

North Orange ContinuingEducation, another campusin the North Orange CountyCommunity College Dis-trict, will also mail theirgraduates a celebration kitin lieu of a virtual ceremony.Graduates will also be in-vited to return and partici-pate in the 2021 graduateceremony.

And Cal State Fullerton,which has also delayed theirin-person graduation to alater date, is creating a dig-ital yearbook titled “VirtualCommencement Celebra-tion.”

Through May 22, thegraduating class can fill outtheir personalized pages,customizing their own inter-active slides with photosand a favorite quote.

The plan is to publish thedigital yearbook in June.

THE SHOW MUSTGO ONLINE

Many are going aheadwith their graduations asplanned, but virtually.

Willie Banks, UC Irvinevice chancellor for studentaffairs, said the school willhold a virtual commence-ment on June 13 for which7,400 students have alreadyregistered to attend.

The commencement cer-emony was recorded in aroom at the Bren Center onthe UCI campus last week.While maintaining socialdistancing and wearingmasks, Bank and other ad-ministrators spoke at a po-dium dressed in their grad-uation regalia as though itwere a traditional com-mencement ceremony.

The video will be shownduring the virtual event,then students will be splitinto their different schoolsand disciplines, where theirnames will be called. Stu-dents have the chance tosubmit a photo or video tobe displayed on the screenwhen their name is called.

Students will also receive

a box with a diploma, tasseland other graduation-re-lated materials prior to theevent.

“This cannot make up foran in-person ceremony, butit’s the best in this environ-ment right now,” Banks said.

He said the school isplanning to hold an in-per-son graduation for Decem-ber, though that’s depend-ent on state health ordersand the condition of theCOVID-19 pandemic.

Cypress College will holdtheir virtual commence-ment ceremony on May 22at 5 p.m, at the same timethey had previouslyplanned. It will be streamedfrom their website.

The processional will in-clude a 2019-20 highlight vi-deo, a roll call of graduates,as well as a video of their2020 Outstanding GraduateElise Cunanan and their2020 Presidential Scholarsof Distinction. President Jo-Anna Schilling, ChancellorCheryl Marshall, AcademicSenate President CraigGoralski, Associated Stu-dents President PrestenJimenez and Student Trust-ee Ester Plavdjian will giveremarks.

“Earlier this semester, wediscussed a number of op-tions for commencementand ultimately decided thatit is important to celebrateon the day and time that wehad originally planned,”said Marc S. Posner, directorof campus communicationsat Cypress. “We believe thisis our best way to celebrateand honor our graduatesand their achievements.”

Coast Community Col-lege District’s three schools— Coastline College, Gold-en West College and OrangeCoast College — usuallyhold their graduation cere-monies at the end of May.Those will be canceled, butthe Class of 2020 will havethe virtual ceremonies, aswell as the option of walkingon stage next year with theClass of 2021.

“You will face manychoices in the days ahead,”said John Chancellor

Weispfenning in a videomessage to the graduates.“Plans made months agomay not be your best optionin this new world of ours.Know, without doubt, thatyour college and the Coastdistrict are there, mentoringas needed, continuing youreducation as needed, andalways cheering you on.”

Coastline graduates cansubmit a photo or video andquote to be shown whiletheir name is read during alivestream ceremony onMay 29. The video will befeatured on the college web-site and social media plat-forms. Student participantswill receive a care packagewith a commemorative tas-sel and stole.

Rep. Harley Rouda (D-Laguna Beach) is scheduledto give a speech.

Orange Coast is holdingits online ceremony on June6. The ceremony will be live

and includes presentationsfrom the college’s president,faculty and a few surpriseguests.

Students, who will also re-ceive care packages, can up-load a photo and personalmessage that will be addedto a commencement video.The college is encouragingstudents and their familiesto host shared watch partiesand connect through socialmedia using the hashtag#coastgrad.

“We recognize the impactthat this change has on ourstudents who have workedhard to achieve their educa-tional goals and the mean-ingful experience that walk-ing across the stage has forstudents and their families,”said Angelica Suarez, OCCpresident, in a letter to stu-dents. “Our commitment isto make the celebration forthe Class of 2020 a momen-tous occasion for our gradu-ates and their families.”

Golden West’s virtual cel-ebration will premiere onJune 12 on YouTube Pre-mium. Graduates can sub-mit 12-second videos orphotos with access to a freeSnapChat filter with a virtu-al cap and gown.

The South Orange CountyCommunity College Dis-trict’s two schools — IrvineValley College and Saddle-back College — are alsoholding virtual ceremonies.

Irvine Valley’s ceremonywill premiere on May 28 at10 a.m. with remarks fromOC Human Relations ChiefExecutive Officer Alison Ed-wards, Associated StudentsPresident Feras Khatib andcollege staff. Each graduate

who decides to participatewill be recognized with aslide of their name, photo,degree and a 150-word per-sonal message.

Saddleback is hosting itsceremony on June 12 withan opportunity to participa-te in next year’s in-persongraduation. They’re also col-lecting videos from studentsas well as family, friends andfaculty for a montage.

And Chapman Universityofficials are honoring sen-iors on May 22 through aFacebook live toast.

It’s the same day as theyhad planned to have theoriginal ceremony. Althoughfaculty, graduates and spe-cial guests will be making anappearance, the Facebookevent is not meant to re-place the commencement,which they are still hopingto schedule for a later date.

“Following the all-uni-versity livestream, manyschools and colleges areholding virtual events fortheir graduates,” said JamieS. Ceman, vice president ofstrategic marketing andcommunications at Chap-man.

“To experience a pan-demic when they are aboutto graduate — that’s veryhard for any students to-day,” said Mary Wickman,associate dean of the nurs-ing department at Van-guard. “Nurses go through apinning ceremony and thatis more meaningful andsymbolic than even theregular commencement ...We are doing our best in adifficult time.”

Banks said commence-ment is particularly impor-tant for first-generationgraduates.

“I’m a first-generationcollege student myself, so Iunderstand the importanceof what it means to witnesssomeone receive a collegedegree,” Banks said. “It’s notonly that person who isgraduating. It’s their entirefamily. It’s heartbreaking forall of us that we can’t do it inperson.

“But when things likeCOVID-19 happen, we haveto adjust and be nimble andpivot to positions for thehealth and safety of ourcommunity.”

Continued from page R1CLASS

Send your graduation storiesto [email protected]

File Photo

PAST GRADUATES toss their caps in the air. This year throughout the country,many graduation ceremonies are either postponed or will be held virtually.

Courtesy of Steve Zylius

WILLIE BANKS, UC Irvine vice chancellor for studentaffairs, taped his commencement address in the Koll Roomin UCI's Bren Events Center last week. UCI's virtualcommencement will take place on June 13.

Courtesy of Cypress College

ELISE CUNANAN is asecond-generation graduateof Cypress College.

CLASS OF 2020TimesOC will continue tocover the Class of 2020throughout graduationseason. If you have a storyto share, [email protected].

R6 SUNDAY, MAY 17, 2020 TIMESOC WWW.TIMESOC.COM

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