Long Beach City College hosted their fourth annual Lavender graduation ceremony recognizing LGBTQIA identifying students on May 17 at the Liberal Arts Campus.
Nearly 45 attendees attended this event to honor and celebrate the 18 graduating students who identify within the LGBTQIA community.
The ceremony began with a few words from Professor Jerome Hunt and board of trustees member Herlinda Chico.
“Being a member of the community, this is very important to me. I have worked at numerous institutions where it wasn’t safe, it wasn’t welcoming or affirming to be out and proud of who we are,” said Hunt.
Students were presented with a multi-colored honor cord as a token for the students’ successes.
“I think it’s important that we can all be recognized here and feel safe,” said graduating student Stuart Soulek.
Graduating students emphasized their need for support throughout their LBCC experience in order to succeed.
“It’s important to me to represent as many students as we can and to provide community for as many students as we can,” said history professor and cohort for Pride Scholars, Vanessa Crispin-Peralta.
“We wanted to provide an opportunity for LGBTQIA students to feel connected to each other and have supportive faculty and staff,” Crispin-Peralta said.
After honoring each graduating student, students lined up to eat.
Middle-Eastern and Mediterranean food was served buffet style by the Yalla food truck.
The official 2024 LBCC commencement ceremony will be held in the Veterans Memorial Stadium on June 6, 2024 at 4 p.m.