Student Speakers Chosen for Multicultural Convocation
May 5, 2010
Pima Community College has chosen its two student speakers for Multicultural Convocation on Friday, May 7.
Linda Lyons and Jennifer Contreras both are receiving Associate of Arts degrees.
Lyons, who turns 61 on May 6, has a 4.0 grade point average and plans to transfer to a four-year college or university, pursuing a master’s degree in creative writing. In February, she was named to the First Team All-Arizona Academic Team. She volunteers as a writing tutor in the East Campus Learning Center and assisting international students attending Pima. At East Campus, she is the Community Campus Liaison and Phi Theta Kappa international honor society committee chairwoman. She also has volunteered at the annual. Pima Writer's Workshops.
“Diversity encourages personal growth and shared knowledge,” she wrote in her speaker application essay. “Exposure to a variety of languages, beliefs and ideas helps us to recognize the fundamental similarities among us and diminishes the differences. Respect for and appreciation of the contributions of others enriches the fabric of our community and strengthens us all.”
Jennifer Contreras, 19, has a 3.08 GPA and is receiving a degree for transfer to a four-year college or university, where she will major in Mexican-American Studies. She attends classes at Desert Vista Campus, where she is an Ambassador. She is a member of Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan (M.E.Ch.A.) and a student representative to the national Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities.
“Once a community is familiar with your culture and makes you feel like you’re at home, you can defeat all odds,” she says. “Then, we as a community can become more open about any culture out there.”
Multicultural Convocation is an option Pima gives its soon-to-be graduates and their families to celebrate their academic achievements and cultural diversity.
Multicultural Convocation is a free celebration that includes a dinner, music, speakers and a sash presentation. The ceremony is a smaller, more intimate event than the Graduation Ceremony, though it is open to all 2010 graduates and their families.
The convocation is at 6:30 p.m., at the PCC West Campus Gymnasium, 2202 W. Anklam Road.
A free dinner is served before the event at 5:30 p.m., in the Cafeteria.
The 2010 Graduation Ceremony is May 20.
CONTACT:
A. Rachelle Howell, Assistant Vice Chancellor of Marketing,
(520) 206-4850