Skagit Valley College graduation on San Juan | Photos

By Heather Spaulding • June 16, 2018 7:00 am

By Heather Spaulding

Reporter

Friends and families gathered to honor three students graduating from Skagit Valley College San Juan Center on June 13 at Brickworks in Friday Harbor.

“While the class is small, each of you has the ability to change the world,” said the college president Thomas Keegan.

He encouraged the graduates to continue pursuing their goals, as well as excellence.

Miles Cabrera, Lauren Ford-Johnson and Ana Sanabria received “direct transfer agreement associate degrees,” which transfer to most Bachelor of Arts degrees at colleges and universities in Washington state.

This degree requires a minimum of 90 quarter credits in college-level courses with a cumulative college-level grade point average of 2.0 or higher.

Sanabria graduated from Friday Harbor High School on Saturday, June 9, and not only received her degree with honors on Tuesday but was awarded the president’s medal from Skagit. In her speech titled “Ready for Success,” Sanabria thanked the community, friends, family and faculty. She congratulated her fellow students as well.

“We managed to stay focused on what we wanted, and complete it,” she said, adding that she has grown into a stronger person as a result of the work.

She will attend Western Washington University in Bellingham, Washington, according to her submission to the Journal’s graduation section in the June 6 edition. She is planning on studying either the sciences, neuroscience or pre-med.

Jill Johnson was the faculty speaker. Her address was titled “Dreams Made Real.”

“Today we celebrate you,” she began, continuing on to say that the students have the ability to not just dream big but to fulfill those goals. She encouraged the graduates to have magnificent dreams and see them through.

“You have our deepest respect, and our undying trust and faith,” Johnson said in closing.