OCC marks 75 years, honors student achievements in Friday commencement ceremony

Getting a jump on the local graduation season, Orange Coast College Friday celebrated the accomplishments of some 1,800 graduates during a spirited commencement ceremony held at Costa Mesa’s Orange County fairgrounds.

Family members and loved ones packed the stands at the site’s Pacific Amphitheatre, as administrators conferred more than 3,800 associate’s degrees and certificates of achievement upon the Class of 2023 on what is the school’s 75th anniversary.

President Angelica Suarez shared with the audience that the school’s first graduating class in 1947 comprised just 500 students. Today, more than 1.5 million students have taken classes at the Costa Mesa community college.

Orange Coast college graduates point out friends and family in the crowd during a graduation ceremony Friday.

(Courtesy of Orange Coast College)

“Good things that are valuable and beautiful take time,” she told a crowd of thousands, after taking a selfie with the audience on her cellphone. “Great things however take more than time — they require perseverance, commitment and flexibility. This is the story of OCC.”

Suarez introduced student Nancy Estrada, who graced Friday’s stage alongside son and fellow graduate Adam Garcia to receive her associate’s in arts for transfer in Spanish.

Having taken classes since 2016, she plans to attend Cal State Long Beach in the fall and study Spanish, with hopes of becoming a high school Spanish teacher.

The 44-year-old Santa Ana resident is the first of seven siblings, born to parents who migrated to the U.S. from Mexico in the 1970s, to attend college. Yet her educational journey might have ended in high school were it not for Garcia.

OCC grad Nancy Estrada, left, poses Friday with son and fellow graduate Adam and school President Angelica Suarez.

(Courtesy of Orange Coast College)

Although her son was diagnosed at 17 with an untreatable brain malformation, he worked to overcome his challenges and one day announced his plan to attend OCC. At that moment, Estrada said, she decided if he could do it, so could she.

“I worked so hard so that I may walk with my hero when he graduates,” she said, blowing a kiss to Garcia in the audience.

She offered this piece of advice for others like her, who may be uncertain of their future or contemplating a return to pursuing academic dreams.

“There are 84,600 seconds in a day, but it takes only one second to change your life,” Estrada said, holding up a single finger. “Adam, without knowing it, took that one second and changed my life.

“Class of 2023, you have the power to transform lives,” she continued. “Be that life-changing moment for others.”

Graduates of Orange Coast College celebrate during the school’s commencement on Friday.

(Courtesy of Orange Coast College)