WCC CELEBRATES CLASS OF 2023
On Friday night, Woodland Community College welcomed the entire community and its graduates for the school's 15th annual Commencement Ceremony, held in person on the campus courtyard.
The ceremony, which featured the largest graduating class in the college's history, took place at 2300 E. Gibson Road and was filled with over 200 WCC soonto-be grads donning decorated caps with life lessons, inspirational quotes or their next plans on them.
“This is the best day,” said WCC Interim President Dr. Santanu Bandyopadhyay after the event. “The best day in college life is when the students walk. It's important for the community to celebrate the event. Education is an opportunity for everyone and the biggest social equalizer. We need to have all our kids come here. Not just kids too, adults can come back here and retool themselves with skills. Access to education is fundamental, and we have that here. It's time to celebrate.”
This was Dr. Bandyopadhyay's first graduation as interim president since his appointment in late January 2023.
This year's graduation marked a “return to normal” graduations after the COVID-19 pandemic forced a halt to in-person activities and special events.
Last year's ceremony marked the first in-person ceremony on campus since May 2019 but featured WCC graduates from the classes of 2022, 2021 and 2020.
This year's graduation, however, was all about the Class of 2023 and their many accomplishments.
Three student speakers — Associate Student President Henna Sandhu, Valedictorian Davis Mandujano and Student Trustee Melissa Miller — deliv
ered speeches highlighting the struggles faced, obstacles overcome, and sacrifices made to get to this point in their lives.
According to the college's website, Sandhu, 20, is graduating with an associate's degree in Social and Behavioral Science. She attended Davis Senior High School and graduated in Spring 2020.
“As your student body president, I've had the privilege of witnessing the remarkable achievements of our class,” she highlighted. “I want to take a moment to recognize the first-generation students in the audience. I know that many of you have had to work twice as hard to get to where you are today. As you move on to the next phase of your life, I encourage you to carry the same spirit of determination and resilience with you.”
Sandhu will transfer to Sacramento State University in the fall to pursue a bachelor's degree in computer science.
Mandujano, 19, attended South Charter as a high school student and graduated in 2021. He's participated in Woodland's 4-H program, Boy Scouts, volunteered for the RISE Inc. program, and was an assistant coach for the Woodland Swim Team, according to the WCC website.
“We live in a system meant to keep us down and put us below a threshold,” he emphasized. “Many of us have had to juggle between work, raising children, dealing with a loss and so much for. And we have had to go through this during one of the most drastic events of our generation — the COVID-19 pandemic.”
However, he argued, “It is in all these moments of adversity that our true tenacity has emerged.”
“Our presence here today is proof that we have persevered, adapted to a new learning environment, navigated through a path of uncertainty and embraced the opportunity for growth that failure presented,” he remarked. “Through these challenges we have faced, we learned that stumbling is not falling, setbacks are not roadblocks, but rather stepping stones towards our future. I challenge you all to use your education, your lessons learned and your newfound skills to find a way to give back to your community, to help the person who wore the same shoes as you and to always fight for a better future.”
Mandujano is graduating with a 4.0 GPA and two associate's degrees — one in social and behavioral sciences and another in sociology. He was accepted to UC Davis, UC San Diego, UC Berkeley and UCLA, but plans on attending UCLA in the fall, where he will be pursuing a bachelor's degree in sociology.
Miller, who has attended the college for three years, has worked on campus for one and a half years, served as a student trustee for one year, and was recently reelected to serve for her second term.
Although she has not graduated, she is currently pursuing an associate's degree for transfer in biology and plans to transfer to UC Davis to study biomedical engineering. She also hopes to one day attend medical school.
Following the ceremony, graduates filled the courtyard and took photos with their loved ones.
Erik Ortega, who was surrounded by family following the ceremony, graduated with two associate's degrees — one in Chicano studies and another in arts and humanities.
“It was a good accomplishment,” he emphasized. “It's nice to finally see all the seeds that I planted when I was youth sprout and see the growth of it, so I'm very happy.”
Ortega plans on attending a four-year university and continuing his schooling but is still not sure where he will attend.
This was Dr. Bandyopadhyay's first graduation as interim president since his appointment in late January 2023.