With the lights turned low and music pumping through the cavernous room, Long Beach City College began its annual state of the college assembly in the Bob and Barbara Ellis Auditorium on Thursday afternoon.
Superintendent-President Mike Munoz announced during his speech that LBCC has partnered with the city of Long Beach, CSULB and LBUSD to create the Long Beach Housing Promise, a five year program that hopes to make housing affordable and accessible to people attending school in Long Beach.
Among highlighting the school’s achievements in putting grants and tax dollars to work and thanking sponsors and state officials, Munoz recognized three students that represented the school’s new message: that all students belong at LBCC, regardless of age, goals, or life struggles.
One such student is Lesli Calderon, a psychology and sociology student who will be graduating this fall and transferring to receive her bachelors and eventually masters degrees. She is a working mom who had already tried college one time before, but dropped out to support herself and her son full-time.
According to Munoz, she finally made the decision to return to college three years ago, and has become an example of resilience, determination and the power of supporting students with non-traditional education journeys.
“It was surreal (to hear Munoz talk), but at the same time, it sets the stage for who I am,” Calderon said.
As a first generation Latina college student, Calderon also wanted to be a role model for her son and people who may not have gone to college straight after high school.
“No dream is bigger than you,” Calderon said. “Do not minimize yourself.”
After receiving her masters, Calderon plans to become a K-12th grade career counselor, to help kids find their passions and transfer that into a potential career path.
Trustee Vivivan Maluulu was elected as Board president for the 2023-24 school term, but served once before from 2019-2020, coinciding with the COVID-19 shutdown that forced LBCC and many other institutions exclusively online.
“I had to do all the work with very little of the fun stuff,” Malauulu joked during her speech.
Malauulu emphasized the importance of providing students with the help they need to succeed in college, whether that be providing financial support, housing and childcare support for families and recognizing the need to celebrate and acknowledge the cultures of all students on campus.
According to Malauulu, participation in student life has reached its peak since the school’s closure in 2020. Showing the desire of students to be involved on campus in a post-pandemic world.
LBCC also earned the number one spot for Federal Pell grant distributions, paying out $30 million to students in the 2022-23 school year. It was also the only California community college to receive a Postsecondary Student Success Grant from the Biden-Harris administration.
The grant will be used to build and develop a new support program aimed to help students that did not go to college immediately out of high school navigate the college system.
Once Munoz concluded his speech, the audience streamed out of the auditorium and into a white, fenced off reception area, where guests could get food, alcoholic drinks, and listen to a live DJ.