Under a purple and orange sky, graduates from Chico State’s College of Behavioral Health and Social Sciences walked across the stage to accept their bachelor’s degrees Saturday night.
The BSS graduating class was one of six ceremonies that took place to celebrate over 3,700 students, and for many, they were cheered on by their avid supporters from throughout their academic journey.
The student commencement speaker, Nicole Foote, spoke of her struggles growing up and her perseverance. The struggles may have plagued the graduating class in various ways, she said, but that perseverance came through to take them to this night.
For some, like public health graduate Mia Santos, that struggle is balancing academics with softball. Santos wanted to go into nursing instead of public health. But couldn’t do both softball, where she played centerfield until being injured, and do the demanding work required of the nursing program.
“But while I was taking classes I got intrigued and just learning about it more caught my interest,” she said. “I want to go down the pathway of becoming a health educator within my hometown area.”
For Santos, her favorite moments weren’t in the classroom or on the pitch, they were with the friends she made during her time at Chico State.
“Be open to being uncomfortable in changes,” she said. “I was someone that was really isolated in my room, but then I started to really become outgoing and go do more experiences with my friends and stuff — I feel like I did the experience too late with them.”
That sense of community was vibrant on Saturday night as many of the graduates weren’t just supported by loved ones of the bleachers of University Stadium, but also, by the friends they’d made along the way throughout their academic journey.
After a tumultuous morning commencement, where gusts of wind caused technical difficulties for the artificial intelligence name reader, the student walkout was delayed shortly for students to fill out a speaker card prior to entry in case a human would need to take over the name readings.
Similarly, the screens and speakers were lowered for safety reasons, according to Public Relations Director Andrew Staples.
But despite all the preventative measures, the ceremony occurred without any issues and spirits ran high to celebrate the second to last ceremony of the university’s 136th commencement.
“Be open to experiencing, even if you don’t feel like going out,” Santos said. “I say go do it because you don’t know when you can create the best memories.”
Chris Hutton and Dash Ferrero can be reached by [email protected]
