National Hispani University graduates 100

More than 100 graduate at National Hispanic University commencement Saturday
By Sharon Noguchi, Mercury News, 06/07/2009

At National Hispanic University's commencement ceremonies Saturday, the music could not have been more apt. To the strains of "The Impossible Dream," more than 100 graduates received their diplomas and certificates, their personal stories lending weight and their happiness giving levity to the festivities at the San Jose university.

On an occasion when normally speakers inspire fresh graduates to higher purpose, the rows of black-robed graduates, adorned with gold stoles, were rich with stories of perseverance, determination and triumph over real life obstacles and odds.

National Hispanic University, one of the nation's few dedicated primarily to Latino students, takes college-ready students and works hard with them to ensure their success. The accredited university offers undergraduate degrees, certificates and teaching credentials, to prepare students for careers in business, education and technology. A majority of students juggle work and family with course loads, and few have the luxury of ensconcing themselves for four years in an ivory tower.

Maria Imelda García was graduating at age 26, after taking off a year and a half to work. And having a baby clarified in her mind the importance of earning a degree, she said.

Reinventing herself

Under tents set up on the lawn of the university's Story Road campus, the ceremony reflected the strong NHU themes of family, community and lifelong
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learning. Four royal-blue-robed preschoolers, from the university's independent child-care center in Richmond, tickled the audience of 250 people as each confidently thanked university President David López and their teachers, and announced their career aspirations — a pilot, a doctor, a policeman.

Keynote speaker Emmett Carson, president of the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, injected a note of sobering reality. The proportion of young Latinos, he said, with at least two years of college has fallen to 16 percent, compared with 18 percent in a previous generation.

But for the graduates, festive in leis of lavender orchids and candy bars, celebrated by families bearing roses and helium balloons, Saturday was all celebration.

At 59, Erica C. Araneda was reinventing herself — again. Twenty-seven years ago, barely knowing English, she was a homeless single mother of two young sons. She worked her way up from an electronics production worker to a senior engineering technician. But last year, four years short of retirement, she lost her job at Intel. So she enrolled at NHU to earn a certificate in interpretation and translation, graduating Saturday at the top of her program.

"I feel I could conquer the world," she said. She's lined up a part-time job and is looking for a full-time one.

Impossible dream

Another graduate, Cheri Elizabeth Romero, 41, earned her bachelor's degree to set an example for her five children. "My dream began 20 years ago," when she quit college after earning an associate degree, said Romero, whose children range from 20 to 8 years old. Juggling a job, family and her oldest son's budding singing career, she found it hard to manage school. But, she said, "My NHU family would not forget about me."

Amid a sea of inspirational stories, the most poignant came from graduate José Antonio Contreras, who received the Sí Se Puede — Yes You Can — award. Five years ago, as he sat in jail, he believed that college was but an impossible dream for him.

On Saturday, he addressed Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Ron Del Pozzo in the audience: "Thank you for putting me where I needed to be: in jail and in a program. Thank you for saving my life."

Instead of state prison for a drug conviction, Contreras got into rehab. While in jail, he said, he was inspired by the story of Pat Tillman, the Leland High graduate and pro football player who volunteered as a U.S. Army Ranger and was killed in 2004 in Iraq.

"Here's a man who gave it all up to fight, and I thought, what a shame, he gave his life for me to make wrong decisions?" Contreras said. "I started thinking about what I should be doing instead of sitting in jail." And he became determined to go to school. He earned an associate degree at San Jose City College, then volunteered with the Salvation Army working with addicts. He enrolled in NHU three years ago, and on Saturday earned his bachelor's in business administration.

After living out his dream, what's next? "I need to find a job, to prove myself in business," he said. "All things are possible, if you are willing to work for them."

Contact Sharon Noguchi at snoguchi@mercurynews.com or 408-271-3775.