Skyline College: CIPHER Hosts Virtual Graduation & Scholarship Recognition Celebration

Press release from Skyline College:

Becky Threewit

May 28, 2021

We were blessed by a set of speakers throughout the evening starting with the Vice President of Student Services, Dr. Newin Orante, who reminded us that our presence in educational institutions is a form of protest and a process of reclamation.  To serve as our keynote speaker, we were privileged to have one of our former Skyline College students and Rock The School Bells Scholarship recipient in 2011, Kenny Foster, to share some words about his journey through education and acknowledging the importance of knowing where you came from.  We were also moved by our CIPHER Graduate Speaker, Nhikkie Sagum, who shared her experiences in CIPHER and how she wanted to give back by helping others in her future profession.  Lastly, Professor Sol McCarthy, a recent recipient of the Meyer Teaching Award, blessed the graduating class with inspirational wisdom for them to take with them in their next chapters in life.

The program also included an opportunity for all graduates and transfer students to share about their experiences, their next steps, as well as advice for prospective and current CIPHER students.  This would not be an official CIPHER event without the vibrant energy and music by our students.  One of our CIPHER graduates and transfer students, Jose Rodriguez, provided us with the musical beats to keep the energy live throughout the event.  We are also fortunate to have one of our former CIPHER graduates, Keane Nishikido, perform a spoken word piece as a message directed to our new graduates and transfer students.

This press release was produced by Skyline College. The views expressed here are the author’s own.