LUCERNE, Calif. – As friends, family and educators looked on Wednesday, 13 students received bachelor's degrees during the first four-year university commencement ceremony in Lake County's history.
The Wednesday evening ceremony feted the first graduates of Marymount California University, which came to Lake County several years ago to offer local residents a new and more significant educational opportunity.
It's been just under three and a half years since the county of Lake and Marymount California University celebrated the lease agreement to bring the first four-year university to Lake County and house it in the former Lucerne Hotel, the stately white castle on the hill overlooking Lucerne and Clear Lake.
That agreement, formalized in October 2012, followed the county's purchase and renovation of the 1920s-era building, a landmark which for years had passed from one owner to another before finding its greatest purpose as a university campus.
The dream of giving Lake County residents more opportunities to advance their education got under way in the fall of 2014, when classes began at the campus.
When it was time to confer degrees on the first round of graduates, having a graduation ceremony in Lucerne was the natural option, allowing the graduates to celebrate at home with friends and family, according to Campus Executive Director Michelle Scully.
Scully said Marymount California University's main campus in Rancho Palos Verdes in Southern California had its commencement last week.
Speaking at the event were Scully, who has guided the new campus through its infancy; university Board of Trustees member Kelly Cox, the county of Lake's former county administrative officer who championed the county's purchase of the former Lucerne Hotel and worked to turn it into an educational institution; graduate Barbara Clark; Lake County Superintendent of Schools Brock Falkenberg; degree candidates Dawn McElroy and Dawn Spurling; and Dr. Ariane Schauer, the university's provost and executive vice president.
Cox delivered the commencement proclamation. “We're not only recognizing an enormous accomplishment for the graduates, who will be receiving their degrees, we're also celebrating a long-awaited milestone for Lake County,” he said.
“The existence of an accredited four-year university in Lake County has been a dream many of us have had for a very long time,” he said. “It's now a dream come true, and the fact that it's happening in this magnificent, historic building is the icing on the cake.”
He told the graduates that they will always have a special and unique distinction thanks to being the first to graduate from the campus.
Cox thanked the Board of Supervisors, the Marymount California University Board of Trustees, Schauer and everyone else who shared the vision of making the campus a reality. He singled Scully out for special recognition, saying no one has worked harder to make the campus a success and support the students.
He told them they will be rewarded for doing things that help others. If they choose to remain in Lake County – which he said he hopes they do – they will have the opportunity to become part of the new generation of community leaders.
“Trust me when I tell you, you can make a difference in this community,” he said. “You really can, I know you can. And the rewards you'll receive for doing so will be great.”
Graduating student Barbara Clark gave the student address, explaining that many of them had to overcome obstacles to go back to school.
“We're not the typical class,” she said, adding that they also were a team.
Clark said the class was presenting the university with the gift of a new bench.
During the ceremony, Scully said her colleagues at the main Rancho Palos Verdes campus call those at the Lakeside Campus pioneers.
Pioneers left the place that they knew for a place of opportunity, trading a sense of comfort for a better life, she explained. “That has been very much like our journey here.”
She reminded them that the most interesting people have been broken, mended and broken again, and she urged them to shine their unique light in a dark world and into places where many are afraid to look.
During her remarks, graduating student Dawn McElroy recalled first visiting the campus. “I could tell great things were going to happen here, and I wanted to be a part of it.”
She thanked those who have made the campus a reality through dedication, leadership and a lot of hard work. Congratulating her fellow graduates, she said, “We made it, and we're just beginning.”
Dr. Schauer conferred the degrees on the graduates, saying she believed their time at the campus has strengthened their dedication to community and their readiness to have a greater impact in it.
“Together we have invested in a grand experiment,” one she said was fueled with a dream, courage and the will to do.
Schauer also credited Scully with embodying the Marymount values of integrity, service and leadership, presenting her with a plaque signed by her colleagues.
A pioneering group
The pioneering graduating class of 2016 includes individuals from a variety of backgrounds. Many are parents, most have previous work experience and associate's degrees, some wanted to advance their education to improve their job prospects.
Spurling shared that she has physical disabilities that provided her with an additional challenge. Many of them are volunteers for community groups.
Others found themselves focusing in on new directions as they learned more about their fields. That was the case for Nate Maxman, who received his Bachelor of Arts degree in business.
He had intended to pursue a career in government finance, but his schooling led him in a new direction – a newly realized passion for nonprofit finance.
Getting his degree – which he did with a grade point average of more than 3.7 – took more than the average dedication.
Maxman and wife Jacqueline both work and have three small, energetic children. Even with his family and school commitments, he still found time to regularly volunteer at the warming shelter run by the Lake Ministerial Association earlier this year. He would sit up through the night at the warming shelter, keeping an eye on things and also working on his university assignments.
Maxman said he's debating where to do his master's degree – either at Marymount or possibly elsewhere – while also considering a local job prospect.
Spurling, another graduate with highest distinction in business, came to Marymount California University with three associate degrees – two from Yuba College and one from Mendocino College.
Those community colleges have partnered with Marymount California University to create a seamless program for students moving forward to receiving their bachelor's degrees.
“What an incredible experience,” said Spurling, accompanied by friends and her brother – who had kept after her about getting her homework done.
“Hopefully, we'll be the first of many” more graduates to come, she said after the ceremony.
Spurling, whose degree has an emphasis in management and entrepreneurship, is still looking at what she's going to do next. Her degree has given her more options.
Clark, who received a bachelor's degree in business with highest distinction, went back to school in order to expand her chances for advancement at her current job.
She's already begun her master's degree program at the Lakeside Campus, and said she is a third of the way through it.
“My plan is to remain in Lake County,” she said, with the goal of using her education to make this part of the world a better place.
The graduation was the end of a few whirlwind days at Lakeside Campus.
On Tuesday, new Marymount California University President Dr. Lucas Lamadrid paid a visit and met with the graduates at an evening reception.
Lamadrid was named the Catholic university's seventh president in March, succeeding Dr. Michael Brophy, who chose to open the third campus in Lucerne.
Lamadrid said the theme of his presidency will be “friendship,” explaining that he was inspired by the work of St. Thomas Aquinas, who in his “Summa Theologica” describes how humans were created for friendship with God.
While Lamadrid had hoped to stay for the graduation, he was called back to Southern California in order to meet with Archbishop of Los Angeles José Gomez.
At the end of hosting the new president and orchestrating the campus' first graduation, Scully said she was “elated, exhausted and really thrilled for the graduating students.”
After a brief breather, it will be time to start working on preparing for the fall semester. Enrollment numbers have been going up, more classes have been added, and Scully said they are now handling inquiries and applications for the fall.
Information about the Lakeside Campus and its educational programs can be found at http://www.marymountcalifornia.edu/lakeside/explore . Follow the campus on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/MarymountLakeside/ .
The full list of graduates, their degrees and honors are listed below.
CANDIDATES FOR THE BACHELOR OF ARTS DEGREES
Bachelor of Arts in Business
Barbara J. Clark, with highest distinction (3.9 to 4.0 grade point average), member of Delta Epsilon Sigma
Natasha Ray Ann Cornett
LaKeeta Mari Grant, with high distinction (3.7 to 3.89 GPA), member of Delta Epsilon Sigma
Nathanael Maxman, with high distinction, member of Delta Epsilon Sigma
Dawn L. Spurling, with highest distinction, member of Delta Epsilon Sigma
Juan C. Valadez
Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Arts
Erin Rose Wurm, with high distinction, member of Delta Epsilon Sigma
Bachelor of Arts in Psychology
Ernest Jamarr Jones
Linda A. Jones, member of Psi Chi
Nichole Lorensen
Sam Lindsey Massette, graduating with distinction, member of Delta Epsilon Sigma and Psi Chi
Dawn C. McElroy, with highest distinction, member of Delta Epsilon Sigma
Sharon Marie Maher Moranda, with highest distinction, member of Delta Epsilon Sigma and Psi Chi
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