Napa Valley College’s Class of 2022 has followed a road unlike any that previous classes ever had to face. Thursday night, its members received their reward — for many, a belated one.
For the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic turned education and life upside down more than two years ago, NVC honored its newest degree holders with a graduation ceremony shared — in person — before several hundred relatives, friends and supporters.
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All the trappings of celebration that had gone missing since 2019 were back in evidence, from the bunches of foil balloons in the stadium stands to the masses of parents and siblings shouting, cheering, blowing air horns or waving placards with images of their graduating loved ones. In all, nearly 300 green-gowned students — about half the number of the community college’s new degree earners — turned their mortarboard tassels and ascended the podium to accept degrees and certificates in a ritual that had been halted since 2020, replaced by webcasts and drive-up diploma pickups.
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“Please recall the hurdles you’ve conquered to reach this academic achievement; thank you for your resilience,” NVC board member Jeff Dodd told the graduates in attendance.
The festivities at Memorial Stadium were a stark contrast to the severely pared-down honors for the college’s graduates of the past two years, when state and county shelter-at-home rules forced the cancellation of NVC’s traditional ceremony on campus.
(Thursday’s commencement was the first to be held at the stadium — normally a venue for high school graduations every June — since campus construction forced a one-year move in 2005, according to Oscar De Haro, the college’s assistant superintendent for student affairs.)
“Thank goodness they had this opportunity to finish their studies, (after) the difficulties during COVID with unemployment, adjusting to online learning, dealing with family who lost their jobs,” De Haro said before the graduation. “These people went through a lot of struggles, but they intended to finish what they started, and here we are.”
One of those who had had to negotiate the roadblocks of the pandemic was Jaqueline Gonzalez, whose plan to use NVC as a springboard to a four-year business degree already had been sidetracked by an undiagnosed learning disability that left her floundering in math courses and unable to concentrate during tests.
“Leaving was on my mind; I definitely felt it more right before the pandemic started, not scoring well on exams, not getting good grades because I felt rushed to complete (projects) by the due date,” she recalled earlier this week. “That made me doubt whether it was for me and if I would be successful in my career.”
Gaining help from NVC counselors and tutors to deal with her learning disability, she raised her grades and eventually finished with a 3.52 GPA and degrees in business administration and communications. As the Class of 2022 valedictorian, Gonzalez, who will study managerial economics at UC Davis, was given the honor of receiving her diploma first at Thursday’s graduation.
Meanwhile, one of Gonzalez’ fellow graduates displayed a tribute to those who helped him persevere through the last two years — in the form of a photo of his wife and their three children he wore around his neck.
“It started as a tradition for my bachelor’s degree; I had a big picture just of the twins, when they were still babies,” said David Taylor, who earned a paramedic’s degree while working full time as a 911 worker in Contra Costa County. “This time I’ve got the whole family; they were my main support the entire time.”
Another NVC graduate had followed his own lengthy path to a diploma, enrolling in 2016 but fitting part-time study into full-time work when his family lacked the funds to support.
“I pay rent; I’m the main provider for many things,” said Edward Galarza, who earned his biology degree. “If I need clothing, it’s on me; I pay for my car; I pay for gas. During COVID it got too stressful, so I took a break to focus on getting more work, so I could continue paying for textbooks and materials that were necessary for my classes.”
During the college’s slow transition back to in-person teaching and activities, Galarza found ways to keep a personal connection to fellow students, taking part in NVC’s student food pantry and its LGBTQ club. Such connections left him with a bittersweet feeling even as he looked ahead to his next stop at California State University Long Beach, where he will study biology and work toward a dermatology career.
“I’m happy I’m moving on and doing something to better my education,” he said, “but at the same time, it’s like, ‘I miss you guys and I want to stay here as long as I can.’”
This year, Napa Valley College is awarding 664 degrees and 385 certificates to 609 students ranging in age from 17 to 76, according to spokesperson Holly Dawson. Forty-five percent of the Class of 2022 are the first in their families to earn college degrees, 47% are Latino, and 65% of this year’s graduates are female.
Photos: Napa Valley College celebrates Class of 2022 with stadium graduation
Napa Valley College graduation 2022
A member of Napa Valley College’s Class of 2022 pointed toward the sky immediately after receiving her diploma during the school’s graduation ceremony Thursday. The commencement was moved off NVC’s main campus on Highway 221 in south Napa for the first time since 2005, when the celebration was relocated due to construction work.
Napa Valley College graduation 2022
David Taylor’s wife and their three children were not only in the stands of Memorial Stadium for his graduation from Napa Valley College, but also in a portrait photo he wore around his neck while receiving his diploma for a paramedic degree Thursday night.
Napa Valley College graduation 2022
Jaqueline Gonzalez (left, wearing blue honors sash) used her speech at Napa Valley College’s graduation Thursday evening to describe her struggles with a learning disability and the disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic before she went on to become the Class of 2022’s valedictorian. Gonzalez, whose graduation from Vintage High also took place at Memorial Stadium, is headed to UC Davis this fall to pursue an economics degree.
Napa Valley College graduation 2022
Among the several hundred family members, friends and other spectators at the Napa Valley College commencement Thursday at Memorial Stadium were well-wishers waving signs and posters in support of new graduates. The community college moved its graduation from its campus on the Napa-Vallejo Highway north to the football field shared by Napa and Vintage high schools.
Napa Valley College graduation 2022
A Napa Valley College graduate-to-be, one of about 300 who filed onto the Memorial Stadium turf on Thursday, slipped on a white sash worn by Class of 2022 members who were first in their families to earn a college degree.
Napa Valley College graduation 2022
Members of the Napa Valley College Class of 2022 received their diplomas before an audience of several hundred Thursday at Memorial Stadium, where the two-year school moved is graduation from its main campus in south Napa.
Napa Valley College graduation 2022
Playful decorations and messages adorned many of the mortarboards worn by nearly 300 members of Napa Valley College’s Class of 2022 at their graduation Thursday at Memorial Stadium. The commencement was NVC’s first to be held in person since 2019, before the shift to mostly remote learning forced by the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic a year later.
Napa Valley College graduation 2022
Jaqueline Gonzalez, as valedictorian of the Napa Valley College Class of 2022, was first to receive her diploma from the school’s interim president Rob Frost during the college’s graduation ceremony Thursday night.
Napa Valley College graduation 2022
A newly graduated Napa Valley College student received an embrace seconds after receiving her diploma at Memorial Stadium, which on Thursday hosted the two-year school’s first in-person commencement in three years.
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Napa County saw its population fall 1% in 2021, according to the state.
You can reach Howard Yune at 530-763-2266 or [email protected]