A long-awaited celebration

NSME graduates among nearly 2,800 at weekend ceremonies

By California State University, Bakersfield

May 26^th, 2021

The sense of accomplishment students feel as they walk across the stage at graduation can only be topped by the triumph of achieving it all during a year like none other. After 15 months of remote learning, graduates of California State University, Bakersfield got the ultimate payoff with a weekend of live, in-person ceremonies.

Over the course of six ceremonies that included both 2020 and 2021 graduates, nearly 2,800 students walked the stage, among them 379 students from the School of Natural Sciences, Mathematics and Engineering, who were recognized in ceremonies Saturday evening and Sunday morning.

“This is long awaited,” said Jennifer Amick, a 2021 nursing graduate, before Saturday evening’s ceremony. “We worked really hard to get here, and I’m really glad we get to be here today to celebrate.”

At the ceremony, CSUB President Lynnette Zelezny praised the graduates’ brilliance, inspiration and achievements. “You are the pride of CSUB,” she told them. In a video, CSU Chancellor Joseph I. Castro acknowledged the challenges of the last year and praised graduates for the ways they have persevered, telling them “There is no obstacle you can’t overcome.”

Dr. Todd McBride, interim dean of NSME, knows his students triumphed in a year full of uncertainty, fear and Zoom classes with possibly unreliable internet connections. Being a student takes hard work and determination any year, but there’s no denying this one demanded even more of students. For graduating seniors and master’s students, they were also dealing with more difficult upper-division classes.

“The graduating classes of 2020 and 2021 have certainly faced challenges above and beyond the normal rigors of completing a college degree,” Dr. McBride said. “It was an honor to introduce the graduating classes and to sit on the stage during the graduation ceremonies for NSME students. The joy and the sense of relief in the students’ faces as they crossed the stage was inspirational. I wish the graduates luck as they move forward in their careers, and I want to let them all know how incredibly proud all of us in NSME are of their hard work and determination. Congratulations, graduates.”

Mathematics student Emily Oliver was recognized as Outstanding Graduate for NSME and awarded the President's Medal. Photo by Juan Rodriguez.

For Amick and other nursing students, finishing college in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic didn’t just force them to take classes from home. As hospitals filled with COVID patients, nursing students who would normally complete clinical hours there were not allowed in. Simulations and exercises with fellow students stood in for real patient experience until students were allowed back into clinical settings. This added to the regular stress of college, but Amick came through it with both her bachelor’s degree and a greater appreciation for her chosen field.

“The pandemic reaffirmed what we started our journey for,” Amick said. “That’s what we’re here for, we’re determined to take care of the community no matter what.”

Friends Citlali Villegas, who earned her degree in biology, and Cynthia Espinoza, who earned hers in human biology, were happy to graduate in an in-person ceremony after a year of Zoom classes.

“It feels awesome,” said Villegas, who plans to work in a medical lab and possibly get her master’s in the future. “It feels really good being here. My family is very proud of me.”

Espinoza said she had been taking everything one day at a time since classes were moved off campus in March of 2020. As the first in her family to graduate college, an on-campus ceremony meant a lot not only to her but to her family as well.

“It’s been a crazy year, but it’s exciting to be here,” said Espinoza, who hopes to get her phlebotomy license and later become a physician’s assistant.

At the ceremony, Rajpreet Kahlon sat with her fellow Master of Science in Nursing students, a second family from the start of their program until the end. Each will become a family nurse practitioner following board certifications.

“I’m very excited,” Kahlon said. “I can’t thank CSUB enough for letting us walk. I’m beyond excited to walk with my friends.”

Like many CSUB students, Kahlon didn’t have just her own education to worry about during the pandemic. She also was her children’s teacher as they took their own classes via Zoom. If the last year has taught her anything, it’s that she’s capable of more than she knew possible — as a mother, as a student, and as a future nurse practitioner