Cypress College Recharges for its Next 60 Years at Spring 2026 Opening Day
It’s a new year, and the start of a new semester. With that often comes the desire to set resolutions or goals. This year, Cypress College has chosen to recharge for its next 60 years.
We had an energetic start to this goal with a performance by the cast of “The SpongeBob Musical” and a lively and interactive trivia game to share updates and accolades and to spark friendly competition. The game included questions about the height of the campanile (130 feet), the number of classes listed as ZTC (189), and the number of times our forensics team placed highly in competitions in the fall (at least four).
The positive energy continued, with a warm welcome to our new Vice President of Instruction, Dr. Luis Gonzalez.
The recognitions didn’t stop there. Cypress College President Scott Thayer shared that, “On Sunday, November 23, 2025, Campus Safety Officers Anne-Marie Valadez and John Garbisch were called to the swap meet in the early morning hours to respond to reports of a man who was laying on his back and not breathing. Once on scene, officers Valadez and Garbisch, took over for a swap meet employee and administered chest compressions until the arrival of Orange County Fire Authority members. Officer Valadez provided 60 chest compressions before Officer Garbisch took over, providing another 30 compressions. The first responders were able to regain a pulse and the man was transported to Anaheim Memorial Hospital.” The Campus Safety officers were presented with certificates and received a standing ovation.
Classified Senate President Christy Montenegro and Dr. Thayer continued the celebratory recharge by recognizing five classified employees who have gone above and beyond in their service to our college community. Award recipients were Chelsea Truong for Student Engagement and Support and Cari Jorgensen and Barbara Woolner for Service to the Campus Community; Yvonne Cota received the Presidential Award, and Sharon Cox was named Classified Employee of the Year.
Showcasing our students has also been a long-standing tradition of the college. In keeping with that tradition, Cypress College student Kaili Nguyen presented her research on “Early Medical Procedures and Brain Development: Impacts on Emotional Development in Pediatric Cancer Patients” during our Opening Day event. She had previously presented her research at our annual “Student Voices: Cypress College Multidisciplinary Conference,” hosted by our Honors Program and Psychology Department. “Through this event,” Dr. Thayer noted, “students from various academic disciplines are provided the opportunity to present their research or creative work. The goal is to foster an environment of academic collaboration while showcasing our students’ diverse talents and scholarly pursuits. The event featured individual, group, and poster presentations.”
NOCCCD Board of Trustees President Dr. Barbara Dunsheath and Chancellor Dr. Byron D. Clift Breland both provided recharged welcomes to Cypress College employees for the new semester.
So what does recharging for our next 60 years look like beyond Opening Day? As Thayer stated, “The throughline of Cypress College is that we as employees feel an honor to serve our students and to ensure their success. We have come to describe our promise to students by saying ‘We Take This Journey Together.’ But, even before this phrase, it is who we are. As I have reflected on the history of Cypress College — including the wonderful 50-year history book ‘A Tree Grows in Cypress’ — I have come to know that our founding faculty chose to work here because they aimed to build something special from the ground up. They had a unique philosophy of creating a student-centered environment. … They were different in the way they were driven by purpose. And so are we. Today’s faculty and staff donate food to the pantry, stock their divisions with snacks for students experiencing food insecurity, donate to the Foundation to create funds for student emergency assistance, and bring clothing to the Career Closet. We staff affinity spaces and bring related programs to life, and we stay well after hours for efforts such as Finals Fuel. We have changed. But we are also the same as we were in 1966.
“We will enter the next 60 years, with a focus on strategically managing our enrollment,” Thayer continued. The approach is aimed at “meeting the needs of our students, to ensuring fiscal health, and to foster continued growth — which means both more enrollment and more full-time faculty positions in our future. … This is an investment in our institution, the most-important part of which is the people who work and study here.”
Before closing, Thayer added that what excites him the most about this recharge is “committing to one another, believing in one another, and fostering success of one another. As we move forward in that spirit, I am filled with great hope for the possibilities in the next 60 years.”