Ah, the sweet smell of the end of the semester. While some eagerly await
summer vacation to begin, others reminisce on their memories at FC.
The Men and Women of Distinction banquet gathered 30 students, their families and their professors. In order to win an award, these students had to be nominated by faculty, staff and/or peers.
“Our job is to take students from where they are and take them where they want to go,” Dr. Savannah Jones, Interim Vice President for Student Services, said concluding the ceremony.
Students who won the award include Lik Jay Lam, Kimberly Madrigal, Christian Ramirez, Gabriel Maldonado, Nicole “Hallow” Richardson, Jayson Baker, Diana Sovilla, Jessica Wu-Woods, Joshua Lee, Emily Maldonado, Kevin Christensen, Christopher Lim, Sophia Alexander, Justine Banal, Josue Mendez, Charlene Egizi, Lauren Raiza, Samantha Topacio, Kien Trung Bui, Kalie Mozingo, Stephen Tith, Christopher Ziadeh, Rita Wainess, Frances Hong Phung, Natalie Gomez, Adam Brown, Katelyn Hall, Christopher Hagen Sr., Haein Yun and Ryan Pena.
These students have done so much for Fullerton College through consistently excelling and embedding a piece of who they are into the campus. Their passion to make FC better than when they found it leaves others inspired to do the same.
The professors who nominated them spoke on why the student was nominated as well as the impact he or she had on their teaching experience.
“She’s a reason why I teach,” Gerald Padilla said referring to Kimberly Madrigal.
Recipients gave a brief speech on their time at Fullerton College, their upcoming educational plans and even some wise words.
“Everyone says college is all about overcoming obstacles…the only to overcome is yourself,” Joshua Lee said during his speech.
Parents and faculty smiled, some even wept, seeing the individual they’ve mentored get recognition for their accomplishments.
“It’s a beautiful setting…high energy…extraordinary students…I’m really proud of our students,” President Schulz said.
The 2016 Woman and Man of the Year were rewarded to Kimberly Madrigal and Christopher Lim.
Once the ceremony ended, some students were nothing but smiles and others had tears streaming down their face. Nevertheless, they were appreciative and proud of the impact they’ve made.
Students like Joshua Lee were incredibly humbled by being rewarded for their time at Fullerton College. Lee is active within FC’s Rescue Robotics Team and will be transferring to UCLA this fall. He noted that his speech was composed very last minute since he was working on robots earlier in the day. He referenced Franklin D. Roosevelt’s “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself” during his speech and gave students a piece of advice on how they too can prevail past their self-doubts.
“If you don’t think you will do it, you won’t do it…You gotta stand up and overcome, look at the goal,” Lee said.
Natalie Gonzalez’s parents, Rocio and Jaime, mentioned it was a really touching ceremony and that their daughter has made them both proud.
Other students, like Hallow Richardson, were shocked to receive acknowledgement for their time at FC. That doesn’t mean that their hard work goes unnoticed. Richardson is majoring in math and has been accepted to all UC’s they’ve applied to.
“It’s kind of amazing. I work my behind off…” Richardson said. “I need to figure out myself, stabilize…I really need to take a break.”
All 30 students will be graduating from FC, transferring to a four-year university or completing a certificate program once summer ends. If that wasn’t already impressive, they will also be receiving permanent honorary membership in Mu Omicron Delta or Alpha Gamma Eta, distinguished honorary societies of Fullerton College and last but not least, scholarships supplied by Associated Students, Schools First Federal Credit Union, NOCCCD District Management Association and Dr. Janet and Henry Emoto.
To all the winners, good luck on your future endeavors, and remember – once a Hornet, always a Hornet.
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