Cypress College Commencement Efforts Lauded in News Coverage
Media coverage of Cypress College’s amazing 53rd Commencement ceremony on May 22, 2020 continues to come in. Today, Kylie Christensen, one of nine Presidential Scholars of Distinction, was profiled by Adolfo Guzman-Lopez of KPCC-FM and LAist.
Christensen, who represents the Fine Arts pathway, was the subject of both an audio and a written profile.
The commencement was also covered by David N. Young at the Event-NewsEnterprise. The feature highlighted 2020 Outstanding Graduate Elise Cunanan and the Presidential Scholars of Distinction: Brandon Nguyen, Business/CIS; John Lasater, CTE; Christensen, Fine Arts; Christina Williams, Health Science; Frankie Islas, Kinesiology; Nate Garcia, Language Arts; Anh Nguyen, L/LRC; Connor Kilzer, SEM; and Sarah Queneau, Social Sciences. Young also highlighted the Academic Senate’s faculty awards — which were presented to all full-time faculty, all adjunct faculty, and Distance Education Coordinator Kathleen McAlister. The awards recognize the tremendous effort necessary to transition the college from in-person instruction to remote nearly overnight in mid-March.
On Wednesday, the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office spotlighted Cypress College, specifically the work of the Charger Experience team with a photograph and caption at the top of their daily report: “Members of Cypress College’s Charger Experience team pause for a photo while distributing regalia to the college’s Promise students. The drive-up distribution supported participation in Cypress College’s virtual commencement on May 22. The Charger Experience Program supports the college’s Pledge/Promise students and their transition into college, connecting them to services and people on campus to help ensure a successful higher education experience.”
Finally, on the Sunday prior to commencement, the Times Orange County printed an article about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on OC graduations (the article also appeared online earlier that week). The coverage included a color photograph of Cunanan. Ada Tseng of the Times wrote: “The processional will include a 2019-20 highlight video, a roll call of graduates, as well as a video of their 2020 Outstanding Graduate Elise Cunanan and their 2020 Presidential Scholars of Distinction. President JoAnna Schilling, Chancellor Cheryl Marshall, Academic Senate President Craig Goralski, Associated Students President Presten Jimenez and Student Trustee Ester Plavdjian will give remarks.”
A complete recap, including the full video along with individual segments, is available online.