By Desiree Lopez
That feeling of being surrounded by unknown faces but only caring about the ones who are there to see you, and the anticipation of moving the tassel to the left makes all sleepless nights studying worth it.
With graduation only a week away, the feeling of excitement can be seen around campus.
For most graduates, graduation does not only mean receiving an associate degree but the beginning of transferring to a four-year university.
Unlike other community colleges, East Los Angeles College makes sure its students are ready to face the world head on upon leaving ELAC.
Starting with a well-rounded transfer center, where students can go to when seeking help with the university application process, or when having questions about tuition, housing and what university is a better fit for him or her, makes the transfer transition much easier.
ELAC’s faculty play a big part in the success stories of many students who are graduating this year.
The professors who teach students how to write proper college essays, to subtract and add negatives by using everyday examples and by relating to their students by not forgetting they were once students themselves.
Are some of the ways in which ELAC’s faculty pushes their students to overcome their fears and motivate them to know anything is possible, all it takes is dedication and hard work.
With having a graduation rate of about 29 percent and a transfer rate of more than five percent, ELAC students have all the odds against them, but being able to surpass those odds and beat them makes graduation only that much enjoyable.
“Building a better tomorrow one generation at a time,” is this years ELAC’s graduation theme, a theme in which relates to the hundreds of graduates this year.
ELAC’s graduation ceremony will be taking place on June 10 at 6:30 p.m. in Weingart Stadium.