1,328 students petition forSP
Before Imperial Valley College, at the age of 16, Alexander Arias signed up for the United States Army. Four days after his graduation on June 13, 2013, Alexander was sent to Ft. Benning, Georgia to attend The U.S. Army Infantry School. After graduating from Infantry School, Alexander was then sent to Fort Wainwright, Alaska. As a soldier, Alexander earned the Expert Infantryman’s Badge, a prestigious badge only possessed by about 4% of the entire Infantry, in history! Other awards earned by Alexander are the Army Good Conduct Medal, Army Achievement Medal, the Overseas Service Ribbon, and several certificates of achievement.
After military service, Alexander attempted to use his experience to get into law enforcement as a way to continue serving his country. However, despite meeting the majority of requirements requested by law enforcement, Alexander was not considered. It wasn’t until mid-2017 that Alexander decided to attend college for the first time in his life. He has pursued a degree in Computer Science to achieve his dream of working in the Video Game Industry.
As a military veteran student at IVC, Alexander has completely aced all of his classes. This means Alexander has received a grade of “A” for every single class he has taken, without failure. As a result, Alexander holds a flawless 4.0 track record for a semester basis and has been placed in the President’s Honor List six times! This proves that Alexander forms a prime example of what it means to be a disciplined and dedicated student, and perfectly represents the Imperial Valley College student veteran community. He was also the veterans club president for fall 2018.
THe was nominated for two Department Awards, including one award in Computer Science by his friend and professor, Rick Castrapel, and another award in Physical Anthropology by his fellow veteran and professor, Manfred Knaak.
I’d like to begin by thanking my family, friends and the student body for giving me the chance to be their Associated Student Government President for the 2019-2020 academic year. Our class is truly one for the record, we graduated through a global pandemic. While many of us may have faced challenges we did not anticipate, we are still here today, we are still celebrating and graduating. So we should all be proud of all of our accomplishments. In case you weren’t aware, the class of 2020 is one of the biggest classes of IVC and I’d like to give you a fun fact about the California community college system: It’s the largest higher education system in the nation with over 2.1 million students with the strongest higher education voice. If we all unite together, we can make the change that we want to see in this world. As we leave IVC, we must make that change we aspire to bring. We all must vote and speak of the injustice that is happening right now in our nation. It is important that we speak out for what is right because we are the leaders of tomorrow. I’d like to thank IVC’s faculty and staff for their guidance and for always helping the students reach their academic excellence. I’d also like to thank Dr. Martha Garcia and her leadership group. They have been here guiding us during the pandemic as well as the Board of Trustees. Now the people that we must think about the most are our loved ones, our families, friends, and peers. I’d like to remind you to social distance and please wear your mask. Please join me in flattening the curve. Congratulations class of 2020, we did it!
I am honored to celebrate with the Class of 2020, especially as an IVC Alumna!
Es un honor celebrar a los graduantes, la Clase del 2020, especialmente porque yo me gradué de este colegio.
It is my distinct honor to congratulate you on this 58th Imperial Valley College Commencement Ceremony, the first virtual commencement in the history of the college. Commencement is a special celebration for the college. Commencement signifies that the students have achieved a major milestone in their life. It is a celebration of success, a major moment in life that emphasizes a completion of a challenging journey of intellectual and personal growth. The class reflects resilience and embodies tremendous commitment. This is a defining moment for IVC and our world. It is a time for courage and strength. I reassure you that we will get through this situation together and we will persevere. We celebrate and honor you.
Es mi honor darles la bienvenida a la ceremonia numero cincuenta y ocho (58) del colegio del valle imperial. Esta ceremonia es muy especial para el Colegio. La graduación refleja el éxito y los logros en la vida de cada estudiante. Es una celebración de triunfo, un momento en la vida que enfatiza un logro más en un camino de retos intelectuales y de crecimiento personal. Esta clase de graduantes refleja resiliencia y compromiso. Lo que estamos viviendo en el mundo con COVID-19 requiere valor y fuerza. Les aseguro que vamos salir adelante juntos. Nosotros celebramos a los graduantes y los honramos.
Of the 1,328 graduates, 2,225 graduation petitions were received, which means students are receiving multiple degrees. The most degrees awarded to a
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