ELAC Celebrates Class of 2024 at Commencement Ceremony
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 5, 2024
News Media Contact:
Kevin Jimenez, College Public Relations Manager
(323) 265-8807 | @email
ELAC Celebrates Class of 2024 at Commencement Ceremony
Monterey Park, CA - East Los Angeles College (ELAC) hosted over 10,000 people in Weingart Stadium on Tuesday, June 4th, 2024 for the commencement of the 2024 class. Over 1,200 ELAC graduates crossed the stage and were joined by ELAC Faculty, Staff, and Administrators who celebrated their academic success.
ELAC President Dr. Alberto Román was joined by Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD) Board of Trustees member David Vela, ELAC Faculty and Academic Senate President Leticia Barajas, LACCD Vice Chancellor Dr. James Lancaster, ELAC Associated Student Union President Martin Romero, and 2024 Student Graduation Speaker Leslie Reynoso in giving remarks to the class of 2024 and each gave advice and wisdom.
ELAC awarded 1,955 associate degrees and 2,426 certificates in 2023-24. The college had a 75% admission rate to the UC system in 2023-24 and had 848 ELAC students who enrolled in a CSU in 2023-24. ELAC transfer students from the class of 2024 will be continuing their education at universities such as Harvard, USC, UCLA, Stanford, and more.
“Graduates, there is a world of opportunities waiting for you. It is understood that your degree will propel your career, open doors, provide financial stability, and advance opportunities for success,” said ELAC President Alberto J. Román. “The attainment of your degree, however, means so much more than self-fulfillment. It means giving your communities hope that the future is bright and beautiful and is painted with people who look like you. It means gaining a seat at the table where policy decisions are made about your community. It means setting the example and paving the way for younger generations of brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews and other young minds who look up to you and aspire to follow in your footsteps.”
“LACCD takes the responsibility of educating you all very seriously. We ensure that all you students have the resources to be able to go to class every day. I congratulate all the graduates and know that they all have the capacity to make this world and community a better place,” said LACCD Board of Trustees President David Vela.
2024 Graduation Speaker Leslie Reynoso is a first-generation Mexican American woman born in South Los Angeles and raised in the city of South Gate. Looking to continue her higher education, after graduating from South East High School, she began her journey at ELAC Fall 2022. Aside from focusing on her academics, Leslie participated in several activities during her two years here at ELAC. She has served as a Student Ambassador for the STAND at ELAC program and holds a position in the Associated Student Union board as the Vice President of the South Gate campus. Leslie will be transferring with an AA-T in Psychology and she will be attending the University of California Los Angeles in Fall 2024, where she will be pursuing her BA in Psychology in hopes to teach her community about the importance of mental health and dismantle the stigma around it.
“All my life I believed myself to be a follower, yet ELAC I learned that I along with everyone else has the potential to be a leader. We learned that community college is not what we were taught. I thought that the traditional college experience would only be possible at a university but after two years at ELAC I was wrong. An experience can be obtained anywhere as long as you make the most out of it,” said Leslie Reynosa.
About East Los Angeles College: ELAC is the largest of nine two-year community colleges within the Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD) and has the largest student headcount of any Community College in California. More information about ELAC is available online at www.elac.edu. Follow ELAC on social media, Instagram @ELACHuskies, X @EastLACollege, and Facebook @Eastlacollege.