CCCC welcomes Graduates to Coyote Alumni Ranks, Honors Class of 2019

With hundreds of family members and friends in attendance, nearly 469 graduates of Cerro Coso Community College degree and certification programs celebrated the achievement of one more milestone on their journey as lifelong learners at the May 10 Commencement in the gymnasium of the Dr. Raymond A. McCue Athletic Complex.

A total of 469 graduates earned 559 Associate Degrees, and 272 Certificates of Achievement from the college for the 2018-19 academic year.

Among the graduates were 61 Phi Theta Kappa members of the international honor society for community colleges, and 12 from the Honors Program.

The college also recognized 7 CCCC Foundation President’s Award recipients for maintaining a cumulative 4.0 GPA to meet all graduation requirements.

Student speakers Chance English (IWV), Elinelle Lee (IWV), and Christine Dockterman (KRV) shared their inspirational stories with their classmates.

Author, motivational speaker, owner, and president of Revitalize Now, LLC, Dianne Toliver, was selected as the Alumni Association’s Distinguished Speaker. A 1978 graduate of Cerro Coso, Toliver shared a few thoughts regarding the ways Cerro Coso prepared her for a successful career in corporate America. “The staff at Cerro Coso challenged me to find my passion, go outside my comfort zone, take calculated risks, embrace, the value of education, and believe in myself,” she said to the assembly. “Thanks to the encouragement of my professors and the college staff, I boldly accepted new challenges. I participated in essay contests and various events which took me to the floor of the California Assembly and Senate, and board rooms of Southern California Edison and the Bank of America. Bottom line…Cerro Coso prepared me for a world I never knew existed.” In addition to her degree from Cerro Coso Community College, Tolliver holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from California State University, Northridge, a Master of Science in Public Administration from California State University, Bakersfield, and holds a number of certifications.

Professor of Counseling Jan Moline served as the faculty Marshal and The Cerro Coso Band conducted by Ms. Debra Veit provided the music for the event.