Posted: May 21, 2019Written by: Ritchie Bermudez

Cuesta College will award 1,423 degrees to 1,060 graduating students at the 54th annual commencement ceremony on May 24th. Of this year’s graduating class, 499 students came from local high schools, 217 of which received their first year of college fee-free via the Cuesta College Promise Scholarship.

“It is exciting that the largest number of Promise Scholarship recipients to date will receive degrees on Friday,” says Cuesta College Superintendent / President Dr. Jill Stearns. “It is surprising how quickly my first year at Cuesta College has reached commencement day! I look forward to celebrating the achievement of our graduates, they are well poised for success as they transfer and launch their careers.”

Awarded this year are a total of 534 associate of arts degrees, 316 associate of sciences degrees, and 573 transfer degrees. The college offers 36 out of 40 transfer degrees, the most out of any California community college, providing students with a clear pathway into the California State University system in areas like agriculture business, communication studies, early childhood education, psychology, and more.

The graduating class is made up of students with the age range of 17 to 77. Of the graduates, 239 earned honors or high honors by achieving a grade point average of 3.5 or higher, including 14 who earned a perfect 4.0 GPA.

A total of 23 veterans will earn degrees this year, representing the branches of Air Force, Army, Marine, Navy, and Coast Guard. Class of 2019 includes students from two international countries (Australia and Brazil) and four states (Arizona, Colorado, Oregon, and Washington).

Cuesta College’s 54th general commencement ceremony will start at 3:00 p.m. on Friday, May 24th in the Dr. Stork Gilbert H. Stork Gymnasium on the San Luis Obispo Campus. The graduate lineup will begin at 2:00 p.m., the same time doors open for seating. Guest RSVP and tickets are not required. Overflow seating will be available in the courtyard in front of the gymnasium where a live stream of the ceremony will air. Those who are unable to attend are encouraged to visit the Cuesta College website at bit.ly/streamgrad to view a live stream of the event.

The Cuesta College Office of Institutional Research compiles the 2019 graduating class statistics which reflect students who have completed degree requirements in Fall 2018, Spring 2019 and Summer 2019 semesters. For more information on commencement, please visit the webpage.