DEDICATED STUDENTS
COM speakers exemplify how class overcame challenges
College of Marin students Juan Camara Pech and Carolina Zaragoza both overcame multiple adversities — and the coronavirus pandemic — to earn their degrees this month.
Camara Pech and Zaragoza, part of a student body that persevered through remote learning and other challenges to succeed academically, are the student speakers for the college's first in-person commencement ceremony in two years.
“I'm pleased that despite the challenges of the pandemic, our student outcomes are up to pre-pandemic numbers,” David Wain Coon, the college president, said in a statement to the school community. “Thank you for sticking with your education, and thank you for sticking with us.”
More than 400 students will receive degrees and certificates outdoors at the
college's 95th annual commencement ceremony at 6 p.m. Friday at the Kentfield campus. Graduates from 2020 and 2021, whose commencement ceremonies were online, were also invited to attend, Wain Coon said.
Camara Pech and Zaragoza both said they are
grateful for the support and guidance they found at the college.
Camara Pech, 23, of Novato is a U.S. Army veteran, a first-generation college graduate and first-generation immigrant from Yucatan, Mexico. He was a student member of the college's board of trustees and will be
attending Stanford University in the fall. He plans to go to law school and pursue a career as a defense attorney.
He is graduating with an associate's degree in sociology.
“One thing I have enjoyed most about my experience is being a part of the Puente learning community and finding mentors that have constantly supported me throughout this learning process that has been higher education,” said Camara Pech, a 2016 Novato High School graduate.
The Puente Project learning community offers support and guidance for Latino or Chicano students.
“They have always tried to ensure that I felt supported, even outside the academic piece, and taught me what I needed to know in order to succeed,” Camara Pech said.
Zaragoza, 27, of Novato is a single mother of three who first started at the college in
2012. After 10 years — including two years when she and her children endured homelessness and food insecurity — she is finishing with an associate's degree.
She will be attending Sonoma State University in the fall and plans to earn a bachelor's degree in criminal justice and pursue a career in law enforcement.
Zaragoza, a 2012 San Marin High School graduate, credits the college's extended opportunity programs and services department, or EOPS, for helping her survive and thrive. EOPS is a program for lowincome students.
Becky Reetz, a staff member at EOPS, and her father
baked cookies daily for some of the student participants, Zaragoza said.
“When I was homeless, there were times when I didn't have money to feed myself and my daughter — or money to get to school — I had to choose between the two,” Zaragoza said.
“Those cookies that Becky's dad made were what got me through the day,” she said.
Students receiving degrees Friday range in age from 71-year-old Caryl Grubbs to 15-year-old Juniper Yoshihara. Grubbs earned an associate's degree in architecture, and Yoshihara an associate's degree in music.
In all, 132 students earned an associate of arts degree; 86 an associate of science degree; 116 an associate of arts for transfer; 63 earned an associate
of science for transfer; and 51 earned a certificate of achievement, according to the college.
Camara Pech said it was “definitely an honor and a blessing” to earn his degree and to see a path forward.
“There's also a lot of responsibility coming with it,” he said. “Coming from an underrepresented and marginalized community, most of the people in my community don't get afforded or have access to an education like in other communities.”
Camara Pech said he would advise his peers to reach out for help if needed and to try to find supportive communities within the school. He also was a member of Alpha Gamma Sigma honor society and the school's social justice club.
“Try to connect with
people who can teach you things, social capital things, cultural capital things,” he said. “That's a really big thing with underserved communities — they don't really know how to do things, like how to enroll for college.”
For Zaragoza, the key was to “never be ashamed” about reaching out for help, she said.
For example, she said, college staffers were happy to provide Christmas presents for her children via gift cards, and a holiday meal at Thanksgiving. The school also had a free lunch table for low-income students.
“Another girl told me she was embarrassed to go the free lunch table at COM,” Zaragoza said. “I told her, `You want to get though school, right? You need a full tummy to succeed.'”