Project Type: CYPresidential
May 21, 2025
2025 PSD Business Administration: Bryan Pham
"Moving to California at age 17 from Vietnam, Bryan encountered language barriers and cultural differences. He was glad to reunite with his mother, who had come to the United States "
2025 PSD Language Arts: Christina Guadarrama
"Although her first attempts to graduate from Cypress College fell through, Christina found renewed confidence in her ability through the encouragement of counselors at outreach events. In particular, helping hands "
2025 PSD Career Technical Education: Esmeralda Alba
"Esmeralda discovered her love of automotive technology simply from being with her brother while he was working on cars. It began as a way to spend time together but soon "
2025 PSD Health Science: Natalia Mindru
"Diagnostic Medical Sonography student Natalia always wanted to enter the medical field. As a child in Moldova, she grew up listening to the stories her physician father would tell about "
2025 PSD Kinesiology: Benjamin Alarcon
"Benjamin started at Cypress College because his sister wanted to attend at the same time as he did. Once he applied, registered, and began classes, however, his sister told him "
May 20, 2025
2025 PSD Science Engineering Math: Dominique Waddell
"The Charger Experience Program brought Dominique to Cypress College, and the academics, clubs, and community kept her here. She is goal-oriented, and knew early on that she wanted to be "
2025 Social Sciences PSD: Chase Curnow
"Chase enjoys being deep in thought, perfect for a Philosophy major. He moved often as he was growing up and came to Cypress at a slightly later age than the "
2025 Visual and Performing Arts PSD: Fernando Lizarraga
"If you had looked for Fernando in high school, you would have found him underneath a tree, sketching images or playing guitar. He says he has gotten lost in making "
2025 PSD We Journey Together: Candyce Young
"Coming to Cypress marked a life-changing moment for Candyce. She had become sober six months earlier, and was ready to rebuild herself after several years of hardship. With shaky self-esteem, "
May 14, 2024
2024 PSD Kinesiology: Kathy Pannell
"We can’t always walk direct paths to our passions. Take Kathy, for example. She spent her years after high school as a mother and customer service rep for local companies. "
2024 PSD Social Sciences: Samantha Ramos
"Lucky for us, Fullerton College’s Puente Program was almost full when Samantha Ramos applied. Samantha knew she wanted to be part of the affinity group, so she turned instead to "
2024 PSD Visual and Performing Arts: Saul Conde
"Saul always wanted to tell stories. ln high school, he found out exactly how he wanted to: through theatre. He felt he was behind his peers, who appeared to have "
2024 PSD We Journey Together: Jesus Ramirez Jr.
"Jesus has a thirst for knowledge – which he once considered a blessing and a curse. While it fueled a curiosity that drew him to many interests – sports, gaming, "
2024 PSD Business/CIS: Subina Adhikari
"Subina describes herself as shy in high school. She says that when it came time to go to college, she wanted an institution that help her transition to a four-year "
May 13, 2024
2024 PSD Language Arts: Jamie Seitz
"Jamie’s love of writing wasn’t the motivating factor in where she went to college. Cypress simply happened to be close to her home. Here, however, she had a realization that "
2024 PSD Career Technical Education: Cassandra Rehome
"Cassandra took culinary and baking classes at Cypress College as a way to switch things up from a difficult first semester. She figured even if she didn’t choose to be "
2024 PSD Health Science: Eric Johnson
"There is so much that Eric went through to get to where he is today. A re-entry student, he came to Cypress College after a 32-year break from higher education, "
2024 PSD Science, Engineering, Mathematics: Daanish Noor
"Life held little purpose for Daanish as he grew up. He dropped out of high school, eventually getting his diploma through a special program, but he says this educational experience "
May 18, 2023
2023 PSD We Journey Together: Azusena Zamarripa
"Azusena always wanted to come to Cypress College. She enrolled here after earning her high school diploma at NOCE, where she finished the work she had left incomplete in high "
2023 PSD Social Sciences: Selwyn Gibson
"If we saw Selwyn running for national office, we wouldn’t be surprised. He’s been a highly engaged student at Cypress College – whether studying Political Science for his degree, representing "
2023 PSD Science, Engineering, Mathematics: Mia Nguyen
"Mia came to the United States from Vietnam when she was 15 years old, ready for a challenge. It was her dream to go to college in the U.S., and "
May 17, 2023
2023 PSD Language Arts: Olly Tetrault
"Keep going — that sums up Olly Tetrault’s philosophy. Olly wanted to be a writer from a young age, and joining Cypress College’s English program is helping them with this "
2023 PSD Kinesiology: Anthony Delgado
"Anthony Delgado’s mission is to help people. He entered the Kinesiology program at Cypress College with the goal of working in sports medicine, which combines his love of sports with "
2023 PSD Health Science: Stephanie Wood
"Stephanie Wood is passionate about helping people. Sometime after she earned her Sociology degree at UC Irvine, she decided to enter a field that more directly influenced people’s lives, and "
May 16, 2023
2023 PSD Fine Arts: Preston Harris
"Improvisation skills have helped Preston Harris from a young age. Starting with role-playing games as a kid, to leading acting and writing workshops in high school to learning how to "
2023 PSD Career Technical Education: Sabrina Tosti
"Having grown up baking with her grandmother, it is just something that’s always been in Sabrina Tosti’s life. She knew she enjoyed baking birthday cakes for family and making desserts "
2023 PSD Business/CIS: Jesse Chang
"Jesse Chang said he started attending Cypress College with a mission to improve himself. He grew up trying to follow a set checklist of life requirements, such as attending a "
May 20, 2022
2022 Social Sciences: Mireya Alt
"Despite the difficult series of roadblocks Mireya Alt has encountered on her higher education journey, her overriding experience at college appears to be one of gratitude. The challenges Mireya faced "
May 18, 2022
2022 Health Science: Pauline Lim
"Pauline Lim found herself on an endless treadmill of working for a paycheck and not a passion. At one point she had to step off and ask herself if there "
2022 Language Arts: Krystal Kosacki
"Krystal Kosacki says Cypress College has a place for every interest and every person. With her extracurricular activity experience, she’s qualified to make this statement. A heavily involved student, Krystal "
2022 Library/Learning Resource Center: Justin Urquilla
"Justin Urquilla’s curiosity has fueled his route to higher education. Although his motivation was hampered by insecurities in coming to terms with his queer identity, he took some time to "
May 17, 2022
Kinesiology 2022: Garrett Deiro
"From the beginning, life was challenging for Garrett Deiro. He says, however, that it also motivated him and informed him on his future career. Garrett underwent two open-heart surgeries as "
May 16, 2022
2022 Business: Rasha Jasim
"Rasha Jasim took a long road to Cypress College. Originally from Baghdad, she moved with her parents and sister to the United States as a young adult and eventually settled "
2022 Fine Arts: Abdul Meelar
"Graphic Design student Abdul Meelar moved to the States from Sri Lanka when he was 7 years old. To absorb the most he could about his new home, he turned "
2022 Career Technical Education: Dan Kim
"Dan Kim entered the hospitality field at an inhospitable time – during the COVID19 lockdown. He was eager to work in culinary arts. He saw food as more than simply "
2022 Science, Engineering, Math: Bradi Palomarez
"First-generation college graduate Bradi Palomarez enrolled in Cypress to be part of the SEM division. She took physics, and it clicked. Her strength in the program led her to work "
May 14, 2021
2021 Counseling: Ayah Said
"Ayah took classes at Cypress College because of the Charger/Pledge program’s free tuition for students who graduate from any high school in the Anaheim Union High School District. What kept "
2021 Science, Engineering, Math: Lia Thompson
"Lia has made her own higher education plan. She went to work directly out of high school to afford college, and as she continued to be promoted, she had less "
2021 Social Sciences: Wilfredo Carrasco
"Wilfredo grew up between southern California and El Salvador, and began studying at Cypress College in 2018. He is glad he stuck to his studies in Human Services and didn’t "
2021 Language Arts: Hiroki Funahashi
"Hiroki came to Cypress College three years ago from Japan. He was drawn to the Flight Attendant program and Cal State Long Beach nearby, which he hoped to attend someday. "
2021 Health Science: Abigail Villegas
"Abigail is studying and working in health care – and has been affected by health care concerns as well. During the COVID-19 pandemic, her grandmother and mother were both hospitalized. "
2021 Kinesiology: Jonathan Gad
"Jonathan took his love of sports and turned it into a career path. Originally from Egypt, Jonathan moved to Buena Park at age 6, when his family secured a visa. "
2021 Fine Arts: Paul Scott
"Paul has a passion for filmmaking and its transformative effects. He went through sort of a transformation himself after diverging from his first college path; he had enrolled at Cal "
2021 Career Technical Education: Alexandra Camacho
"Alexandra learned to cook from her mother at the family’s home in south Los Angeles. At age 15, Alexandra’s world was shaken when her mother was deported to Mexico. Alexandra’s "
2021 Business/CIS: Jacklyn Williamson
"Jacklyn grew up living in motels with her family in Orange County. When Jacklyn was 16, her mother passed away; when Jacklyn turned 21, she lost her father, too. Jacklyn "
May 6, 2020
2020 Business/CIS: Brandon Nguyen
"Brandon is a cyber defense major and was selected as the Presidential Scholar of Distinction for the Business/CIS Division at Cypress College. Growing up in Orange County, he found a "
May 5, 2020
2020 Career Technical Education: John Lasater
"John is an air conditioning and refrigeration major and was selected as the Presidential Scholar of Distinction for the Career Technical Education Division at Cypress College. His initial educational journey "
May 4, 2020
2020 Fine Arts: Kylie Christensen
"Kylie is a dance major and was selected as the Presidential Scholar of Distinction for the Fine Arts Division at Cypress College. She found a passion for music and the "
May 3, 2020
2020 Health Science: Christina Williams
"Christina is a psychiatric technology major and was selected as the Presidential Scholar of Distinction for the Health Science Division at Cypress College. Throughout her life, she has been a "
May 2, 2020
2020 Kinesiology: Frankie Islas
"Frankie is a kinesiology major and was selected as the Presidential Scholar of Distinction for the Kinesiology Division at Cypress College. He has always been involved in sports in one "
May 1, 2020
2020 Language Arts: Nate Garcia
"Nate is a communication studies major and was selected as the Presidential Scholar of Distinction for the Language Arts Division at Cypress College. Growing up, he had a number of "
April 30, 2020
2020 Library/Learning Resource Center: Anh Nguyen
"Anh is a liberal arts major and was selected as the Presidential Scholar of Distinction for the Library/Learning Resource Center at Cypress College. She immigrated to the U.S. five years "
April 29, 2020
2020 Science, Engineering, Mathematics: Connor Kilzer
"Connor is a pre-engineering major and was selected as the Presidential Scholar of Distinction for the Science, Engineering, Mathematics Division at Cypress College. After graduating from high school, he chose "
April 28, 2020
2020 Social Sciences: Sarah Queneau
"Sarah is an anthropology major and was selected as the Presidential Scholar of Distinction for the Social Sciences Division at Cypress College. She originally decided to return to school to "
May 22, 2019
2019 Business/CIS: Sagidah Karakra
"Cypress College’s appreciation and value for diversity, along with her older sister’s academic success at the college, motivated Sagidah Karakra to pursue higher education at Cypress College. Sagidah has been "
2019 Career Technical Education: Claudia Espinoza
"Claudia Espinoza was born in Santa Ana, but at the age of 2, moved to Mexico where she grew up for 14 years. At 16, her family moved back to "
2019 Counseling: Jessica Button
"Jessica Button has said she’s come further than she ever thought realistic. A fun-loving girl with endless creativity, she chased many different opportunities that deferred her degree completion, but for "
2019 Fine Arts: Nhi Nguyen
"At the age of 19, Nhi Nguyen emigrated from Vietnam to the United States with her mother. In a completely new environment and having to cope in an unfamiliar language, "
2019 Health Science: Evelyn Hernandez
"A first-generation college student and single parent when she first started on her educational journey at Cypress College, Evelyn Hernandez said the college has been her home away from home "
2019 Kinesiology: Jane Woodward
"Jane Woodward was a four-sport standout in high school, participating in varsity women’s volleyball, basketball, track, and tennis at Woodrow Wilson High School in her hometown of Portland, Oregon. After "
2019 Language Arts: Jene Viray
"Born in the Philippines and raised in the United Arab Emirates, Jene Viray is an international student at Cypress College who is graduating with her associate of arts degree in "
2019 Science, Engineering, Mathematics: Selina Jaimes Davila
"Selina Jaimes Davila has been a high-achieving student from a young age and worked hard to graduate with high honors from Huntington Park High School, only to be rejected admission "
2019 Social Sciences: Sandra Enriquez
"Sandra Enriquez was still in high school when she had her first child. As a young mother who, admittedly, did not understand the reality of being a mother, she rebelled "