Two prestigious national scholarship recipients, a veteran re-entering the workforce, and a proud mother and her son were among the record-number of graduates who participated in the Mt. San Jacinto College commencement ceremony on Thursday at Pechanga Resort Casino.
Caris Sandino, 28, of Beaumont, was one of the two MSJC graduates to receive the prestigious Jack Kent Cooke Undergraduate Scholarship. The coveted scholarship was awarded to only 60 students across the nation. She said joining the MSJC Honors Enrichment Program was one of the best decisions she’s made.
“I am really happy with my experience at MSJC,” Sandino said. “It helped me grow personally and academically as well.”
Of the 2,183 students earning degrees and certificates this year, 974 graduates walked in one of two ceremonies, marking the highest number of students to date participating in commencement. The MSJC Class of 2024 earned a total of 2,848 degrees and certificates, as some students earn more than one degree, certificate or a combination of both.
The ceremony honored the college district’s 60th anniversary with the theme “A Legacy of Transformation.” MSJC began its anniversary celebration in the 2023-24 academic year to mark the 1963 opening of the college. Its first graduating class was celebrated in 1965, with a total of eight students.
Sandino came to the U.S. from Nicaragua when she was 11 with her mother and is the first in her family to graduate from college. She founded MSJC’s Eagles DREAMers Club, which provides a safe space for undocumented students to network, advocate, and get the support they need to succeed.
“Launching Eagles DREAMers has been one of the most personally meaningful accomplishments in my college journey,” Sandino said. “It’s been an incredible privilege to advocate for and support our undocumented student community, knowing that our efforts have the power to impact lives and foster inclusivity within our college community.”
Her leadership and hard work in the classroom helped her earn the Cooke scholarship. Sandino will transfer to the University of California, Berkeley to major in business administration.
Temecula resident Joseph Awad, who served as Student Trustee this past year at MSJC, was the second MSJC graduate to receive the Cooke scholarship in 2024. Awad will transfer to the University of California, Los Angeles to major in psychology.
Like Sandino, Awad joined the Honors Enrichment Program and was recognized for several significant research projects, including an Outstanding Abstract award from the Honors Transfer Council of California’s Research Conference held at University of California, Riverside in April for his research on “Contextualizing the Lived Experiences of Queer Arabs: Understanding the Dimensions & Manifestations of Fear.”
Awad, 20, said his experiences and success seem surreal given his background as a self-described “first-generation, queer, Arab immigrant, wannabe college student.” He credited his success to his mentors and “many kind souls at MSJC.”
“I hope the past three years of my life can show how much you can change somebody’s life by investing in them and their story, and for that I’ll always be grateful,” Awad said.
Lake Elsinore residents Eric Ellis, 35, and his wife, Carolyn Ellis, 38, celebrated a milestone as they crossed the stage together. Eric, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran with deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, plans to become a social worker to support fellow veterans in their mental health journeys.
Carolyn plans to transfer to Loma Linda University to become a surgical technician.
“MSJC provided all the building blocks we needed to reach our goals and have meaningful careers,” Carolyn Ellis said.
Jilema Silver, 44, of San Jacinto, said she was proud to graduate MSJC with her son, Cameron Britt, 23. Silver said she started pursuing a degree in business, but through her work at MSJC’s Veterans Resource Center, she decided to receive a second degree in psychology so she could help others. In addition, Silver served as the vice president of the Student Government Association, went to a conference in Washington, D.C. and learned how important it was to “speak up on matters.”
“I love MSJC,” Silver said before the ceremony. “I love everything that it’s done for me, [and] the professors and I just grew as a person.”
Silver is transferring to California State University, San Bernardino and said her son is already earning money with his degree in digital media, serving in a paid internship through the city of Menifee.
Silver served as a student speaker during the morning graduation ceremony. She thanked her son for sharing in the journey, faculty for their support, and peers for becoming friends and companions.
“As we step out into the world, let us do so with heads held high, knowing that the legacy of transformation we leave behind will continue to inspire and uplift others for generations to come,” Silver told the Class of 2024. “I leave you with these final words: Remember you can do anything and everything – except give up.”
