‘The stage is yours’

College can feel like a whirlwind, with schedules packed full of classes, homework, internships, clubs and more. Students rush from moment to moment, semester to semester, trying to meet every requirement to finish in time. But on the day that they finally graduate, arriving early to find their seats, the pace slows for a moment of reflection on everything it took to get them there.

Over two ceremonies at the Dignity Health Arena on Saturday, nearly 1,000 students graduated from California State University, Bakersfield. Among them were 134 from the College of Natural Sciences, Mathematics and Engineering (NSME).

One of those students was Avelina Olmedo, a computer science major who likes getting things done early. After years of home-schooling, she graduated high school at 17 and is now earning her college degree at just 20 years old. She received an early job offer back in June to work as a web developer at Linean. And on Saturday, she had taken her seat in the arena with more than an hour to spare, giving her time to consider the significance of the day.

"People would ask me how I feel about graduating, and I'd say, 'Well, it definitely feels bittersweet but ask me at the end of the semester and I'll probably have a different answer,'" Olmedo said. "Now, I'm feeling ready. I'm excited. It will be a fun new chapter."

Chase McCullough and Robert Flores, both electrical engineering students, were also celebrating the conclusion of one era and the start of the next.

"It feels good that all the hard work we put in is finally going to pay off," Flores, 23, said. "It was a lot of pressure being the first in my family to go to college, but now that it's done, I feel proud that my family gave me this opportunity and I made the most of it."

Flores hopes to earn his Fundamentals of Engineering license soon and go on to work in control systems in automation or manufacturing.

McCullough, 22, will be working at A-C Electric, where he interned in the summer of 2024 and has been working as a construction project aid since his internship ended. With a job already lined up, McCullough said he feels like he's "speeding right through" the college-to-real life transition. Fortunately, he knows his time at CSUB has prepared him well for what's next.

"I had a very good time at CSUB, everything went smoothly," he said. "Everybody is really kind, the professors are really helpful. I enjoyed all my classes and feel very confident that I got a lot of out of them too."