• printer friendly
• mail this article
• iPod format
• digg

While UCLA prepares to award 11,000 degrees, three students at UC Merced will participate in the university’s first graduation ceremony today.

In a room that seats 300, UC Merced plans to award diplomas for the first time – to one graduate student and two undergraduate students. All three are originally from the San Joaquin Valley.

Patti Istas, director of communications at UC Merced, said administrators will conduct a traditional ceremony and will also recognize student leaders and members of the faculty by thanking them for their contributions to the new school.

“We are thrilled to hold a graduation our first year, and we want to make sure that the focus is on the students and their achievements,” she said.

Istas said Merced officials expect a mix of students, faculty and campus community members to attend the event.

UC Merced opened in September 2005 with about 900 students, and UC officials expect that it will reach full enrollment at 25,000 students by 2030. It is the 10th UC campus and the first American research university built in the 21st century.

The last time a UC campus saw the graduation of an inaugural class was in 1965, when both UC Irvine and UC Santa Cruz opened.

Eve Delfin and Kristi Imberi, both graduating as cognitive and social science students, transferred to UC Merced from Merced College as seniors.

Imberi, who previously attended UC Davis, said she was drawn to UC Merced by the idea of being a part of the pioneer class and because of its convenient location in the San Joaquin Valley.

She added that she enjoyed her year at the university, especially because she had direct contact with faculty and the dean.

“At Davis, I never once was in direct contact with the dean. Here the dean teaches two of my courses, and I’m in touch with him every day. I feel that the smallness of (Merced) has been a benefit for me and other students,” Imberi said.

Delfin said while she faced challenges because there were a limited number of classes offered to her as a senior, she enjoyed the opportunity to be a part of history.

“I’ve attended Berkeley, which is the oldest UC, and now I’m at Merced, the newest UC,” she said.

The graduation ceremony will include speakers from the campus, such as the chancellor, dean and graduating students.

Kenji Hakuta, dean of the School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Art, said he believes the students were rewarded for their willingness to take a risk by being a part of the unique experience that included personal contact with world-class researchers.

“The students really represent the pioneering spirit. They themselves took a risk and had their eyes opened to opportunity,” he said.

Hakuta said the graduation represents the UC’s commitment to serving the needs of the state’s population. The San Joaquin Valley is the region that has traditionally sent the fewest students to the UC, which administrators hope will be altered with the introduction of the UC Merced campus.

Daniel Santillano will graduate today with a master’s in environmental systems. He said though he had apprehensions about coming to such a small school after attending UC Berkeley for his undergraduate degree, the school was an ideal location to study ecology because it is located in a natural laboratory.

He added that his time at Merced was a tremendous adventure that allowed him to tackle the environmental challenges of the region through his science.

“This is an atypical university environment in that we cooperate and collaborate so much between disciplines that it’s given me a much better perspective of the environment,” Santillano said.

He said he is happy to give the gift of graduation to his mother for Mother’s Day, and he will continue his work toward a doctorate in Germany.