This week marks a time of celebration for thousands of students graduating from our local university and college. With family and friends in town, restaurants booked for private parties and trips scheduled all over the world, there is a buzz of commencement in the Long Beach air.
Long Beach City College held commencement ceremonies yesterday night, and CSULB is holding commencement ceremonies all week.
Students from Cal State Long Beach are walking in ceremonies that began Wednesday and continue through Friday. It takes three days to recognize 8,225 students from seven different colleges who will receive degrees this week from The Beach. The number includes the largest and most diverse class in university history. It also includes former governor George Deukmejian who was awarded an honorary doctorate of Laws from the College of Liberal Arts.
In total, Forty Niner alumni will join about 80,000 Cal State University counterparts who graduate this spring from the largest four year system of public higher education in the world, heavily contributing to the California and national economies.
Long Beach City College recognized students completing their AA degrees and career certificates at a large ceremony Thursday evening. Mayor Bob Foster delivered the Keynote Address at Veteran’s Stadium and over 600 graduates participated in the ceremony which included a fireworks show at the end of the graduation.
This year’s graduating class is especially notable for Long Beach City College, an institution celebrating its 80th anniversary. The LBCC class of 2008 is receiving 490 AA degrees and 1290 career certificates.
Disclosure: Robert Garcia, lbpost.com co-founder is an employee of Long Beach City College.