LBCC alumni foundation inducted Vice Mayor Cindy Allen and one of the Board of Trustees Uduak-Joe Ntuk into LBCC’s Hall of Fame and awarded others on Sept. 7.
Getting awarded was LBCC alumni and long time teacher Barbara Ellis, Long Beach City colleges public relations coordinator Camille Bolton and the Grand Prix Foundation.
The event was full of loved ones from the many people getting honored, people from the CSULB alumni foundation, and prominent figures such as congressman Robert Garcia, councilwoman Megan Kerr, President and CEO of St Mary’s Medical Center Carolyn Cabo, and more.
“If you would’ve told me that I would be here, getting inducted today, I would not have believed it,” Allen said.
During her speech Cindy Allen would reminisce on the doors that opened up after finishing her education at Long Beach City College.
She then transferred to Cal State University Long Beach where she got her bachelor’s degree in business management and a master’s degree in public administration, after that she would work for the LBPD for 10 years until an unfortunate accident would lead to her leaving the force.
“I am very blessed and fortunate that I live in Long Beach,” said Allen in her final sentences before leaving the stage.
The other alumni inducted into Long Beach City College Hall of Fame was a member of Long Beach City Colleges Board of Trustees Uduak-Joe Ntuk.
Ntuk is the first black man to be elected to serve on the Board of Trustees since the opening of the college.
Ntuk graduated in 1999 with a liberal arts degree and one of the highest GPAs on the Viking Football team that he was a part of.
“LBCC was good preparation for my college career,” Ntuk said.
After his time at Long Beach City College, he went to Cal State University of Long Beach and got a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering and a master’s degree in engineering from the University of Southern California.
“LBCC was my dream-catcher,” Ntuk stated.
With the help of Long Beach City College, Ntuk has worked with Governor Gavin Newsom on finding new environmentally friendly ways to get oil, working as a chemistry professor at the California University of Long Beach, and more.
Vice Mayor Cindy Allen and Uduak-Joe Ntuk weren’t the only people that were getting celebrated that night. Two community spirit awards and one campus friend award were also given out.
The Grand Prix Foundation was the first to get one of the community spirit awards. The Grand Prix Foundation has donated over $5 million to Long Beach.
The award was accepted by the foundation’s president Rick DuRee. The entire board of directors were also in attendance.
Superintendent-president of LBCC Mike Munoz stated that the Grand Prix Foundation has donated and helped support Long Beach City Colleges Mechanic Program and the college is so lucky to have such a community partner.
The other spirit award was given to a long time friend of the college and an important figure in the Long Beach education system was Barbara Ellis.
Ellis grew up in Long Beach and was a teacher for the Long Beach Unified School District for over 20 years.
Ellis continued servicing her community with volunteering, becoming an ambassador of St. Mary’s Medical Center, a member of the Senior studies advisory group, and a member of the organization Women in Philanthropy.
One of her biggest accomplishments at LBCC is the new auditorium which will be named after her and her late husband and alumni Robert Ellis.
“This honor encourages me to do more for my community,” Barbara said as she accepted her award.
The final award that was given was the campus friend award for the second time ever.
The recipient was Camille Bolton, a woman who has known that Long Beach City College was where she was meant to be since she was a child.
After starting at LBCC at age 16, she graduated in 1988 and transferred to California State University of Fullerton with a degree in journalism.
“All good things in my life came from LBCC.” Camille stated.
Teary eyed, Bolton reminisced on everything that Long Beach City College gave her. Friends, mentors, and memories of being and working with them that she won’t soon forget.
The Long Beach City College Alumni Foundation ended with a congratulatory-filled goodbye from Munoz and flowers and praise given to the honorees.