Weather-wise, it was fitting that Grossmont College’s 2008 commencement ceremony was held on June 5 under “sunny”
skies for Dr. Sunita “Sunny” V. Cooke. It was her first time to preside over a Grossmont College graduation
event following her appointment as the college’s eighth president in July 2007.
“Everywhere I go, I hear stories about what a difference Grossmont College has made
in the life of an individual, family member or friend,” she said to the assembled multitude.
“I am awed at the energy and intellect of this group of students.”
A total of 1,512 graduates were conferred associate degrees and certificates of achievements
at Grossmont’s 47th annual commencement (the college started in 1961). Among this year’s
graduates: 207 graduated with honors from Phi Theta Kappa, the international honors society;
eight earned a 4.0 GPA; 72 were military veterans who had used their benefits (they wore red,
white and blue tassels). The oldest graduate was El Cajon resident Trau Duong, 68, a native of South
Vietnam who came to the United States in 1994, after spending 13 years as a prisoner in communist
camps. He received both a certificate in foreign language, and an associate degree in art.
The youngest graduate was Melanie Frontz, 18, a graduate of Grossmont College’s Middle
College, which is a Grossmont Union High School District school that meets at Grossmont
College with juniors and seniors taking college classes and receiving both high school
and college credit. She is planning to attend UCLA.
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Also graduating were Sandy Weber, 60, and her 19-year-old son Erik who has autism. In the
fall of 2004, both mother and son enrolled at Grossmont, and Sandy took the same classes
as Erik with the intention of helping him with school assignments. However, over time,
Erik’s confidence improved and his independence increased to the point that Sandy began
taking different classes than Erik. Both of them graduated with associate degrees. Despite
his autism, Erik graduated with a 3.89 grade-point-average, and has begun attending Point
Loma Nazarene University.
The keynote speaker was Karen Vigneault, a 1997 Grossmont graduate who went on to earn a
bachelor’s degree at San Diego State University and recently received a master’s in library
and information science from Drexel University Online. She is a librarian for Maric College
and the Kumeyaay Historical Society, non-profit organization that is preserving the historical
documents, history, culture of the Kumeyaay Nation.
“Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I would actually have gone to college
and graduated,” said Vigneault. “Thanks to my mentors, like Grossmont College librarian
Kats Gustafson, I was able to accomplish more than I ever dreamed of.”
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