Gavilan graduates a record 518 students
By Sara Suddes
Pinnacle staff writer
After administrators at Gavilan College’s graduation last week
handed out a series of special awards, nursing student Samantha
Davidson was first to cross the stage.
Like the two dozen other nursing students that accepted
diplomas, Davidson, 23, of Hollister, was dressed to the nines,
wearing white patent leather high heels decorated with first-aid
crosses. She carried a matching purse, and decals on her cap made
her easily recognizable to her family in the bleachers.
Gavilan graduates a record 518 students
By Sara Suddes
Pinnacle staff writer
After administrators at Gavilan College’s graduation last week handed out a series of special awards, nursing student Samantha Davidson was first to cross the stage.
Like the two dozen other nursing students that accepted diplomas, Davidson, 23, of Hollister, was dressed to the nines, wearing white patent leather high heels decorated with first-aid crosses. She carried a matching purse, and decals on her cap made her easily recognizable to her family in the bleachers.
“It’s been a long process,” Davidson said of the six years she’s worked toward her degree at Gavilan.
She decided to become a nurse because of her grandfather, who died after a long bout with cancer when she was a teen.
“He was in and out of the hospital for as long as I remember.”
She said she remembers him saying how the nurses were the ones who were always there.
Said fellow nursing student Leslie Hudson, 27, of Hollister: “You become a family here so we’re going to miss each other.”
To celebrate her graduation, Hudson and her family planned to leave for Hawaii the next day.
“I’ve been waiting for this day for a long time,” she said.
Gavilan College staff conferred a record 518 diplomas May 28. The college also bestowed an honorary degree upon Santa Clara County Supervisor and Gavilan alumnus Don Gage, who could not attend the ceremony because of his wedding anniversary.
A member of a field largely dominated by women, Robert Huerta, 24, of Hollister, said he enjoyed being one of only two men in the program. But “having another guy in the class to vent to was really nice,” he said.
For Huerta, the years of sacrifice and hard work that culminated in last week’s ceremony were well worth the effort.
“I love caring for other people,” he said. “It’s one of the most gratifying things a human being can experience.”
One of the more inspirational stories was that of 29-year-old Raul Escalante. The first in his family to graduate from college, Escalante is off to University of California, Berkeley next fall, where he will study political science. After that, his sights are set on Harvard Law School. With such a bright future before him, it’s hard to believe the stories of his rocky youth.
Instead of looking up to his father, a hardworking man with the callused hands to prove it, Escalante fell in with a rough crowd and turned to drugs as a teen. For years, school was the furthest thing from his mind. Then he met a girl who encouraged him to put his troubled past behind him and focus on what made him happy.
“He’s destined for greater things,” said Sabrina Hernandez, the girl who saw Escalante’s potential and now his girlfriend of several years. “I’m proud of him. No matter what, I’m going to be by his side.”
Escalante’s only regret is that he didn’t realize his capabilities sooner.
“Everything I’ve done, I’m really proud of, but I wish I had done this when I was 19 or 20,” the Morgan Hill resident said. “If I didn’t finish, I would have gone back to the way it was. There was no other option. I want to be the role model I never had.”
In addition to his diploma, Escalante accepted a $1,000 scholarship and was recognized as Gavilan’s Outstanding Transfer Student.
“This is the biggest occasion in my family’s history,” he said.
Keynote Speaker Michael Treviño, a Gavilan alumnus and assistant dean at the University of California, Hastings College of Law, reminded students that while they are turning the page on one chapter of their lives, they are about to embark on another.
“Remember that what you do matters,” Treviño said. “And never relinquish the power you have to change.”
His words triggered a loud round of applause from the audience.
“Tonight’s ceremony is called commencement, which means the beginning of something,” Treviño said. “Completing your educational goals is not the end of your journey but rather the beginning of using your education to take your next steps, whether it is in a vocation or transferring to a four-year college. Seize the moment.”
