Commencement Day Celebrates Both Grads and Alums


June 1 was a very special day on the Santa Ana College campus. Several major events took place, including the Alumni Hall of Fame Awards and our annual Commencement ceremony. The Alumni Hall of Fame Awards recognized four exceptional individuals for their professional and personal achievements. At Commencement, over 6,000 attendees saluted some 500 graduates as they move on to success in their professional careers or additional college endeavors.

Alumni Hall of Fame Honorees for 2007 were Dr. Jeff Armstrong, biologist and environmentalist; Ken Ulrich, construction engineer and humanitarian; Dennis Farrell, NCAA Big West Conference commissioner; and Rolf Engen, a world-class athlete and entrepreneur. Each year, the Alumni Hall of Fame offers people attending Commencement day an opportunity to also acknowledge the accomplishments of exemplary graduates of the college who have built on their experience at Santa Ana College.

Commencement, held at Eddie West Field, featured U.S. Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez as keynote speaker. Sanchez related her personal experiences and successes as an illustration of the importance of education and hard work as a role model for the graduates. Other speakers included distinguished SAC faculty member Kathy Patterson, professor of humanities and social sciences.

Student awards, voted by their peers, included the Hammond Award (named for former SAC President Dana King Hammond) for outstanding service by a male student went to Jose Vaca, Jr. and the Northcross Award (named for former SAC Dean of Women Eleanor Northcross) in recognition of outstanding service by a female student went to Lizbeth Lopez. The 2007 Distinguished Faculty Award, as voted by both students and faculty, went to business professor Glenn Doolittle.




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