By Stephanie Viloria
Staff Writer

A Graduation Workshop for prospective graduates took place in the Walter Stiern Library on Wed. Oct. 29 to guide students through their final year.

Headed by Admissions and Graduate Advisors, Veronica Bethea and Kalyn Valentine, the workshop addressed the steps required in order to be applicable to graduate.

The steps were straightforward and simple. Prospective graduates must fill out a graduation assessment form known as a grad check in order to determine whether they’ll be able to graduate on time. A student will be accepted or denied for graduation based on whether they can take the classes necessary by June 9 of this academic year.

Despite workshops that are available like these, students nearing the end of their senior year still encounter problems with the transition from student to graduate.

“Some students don’t even know they need to apply [for graduation],” Bethea said. “And once they apply, they don’t know the steps to take after submitting their grad check.”

To prevent problems like these, Bethea and Valentine suggest a few crucial things to remember if you expect to graduate this year. They stress not to skip advising, to submit your grad check at least two quarters in advance, and to keep track of all the courses that you need to complete all graduation requirements.

The expected number of graduates is between 1500 to 2000 this year alone.

“As the population of students increase, so do the number of graduates per year,” said Valentine.

Graduation time spurs thoughts of the future in the minds of these graduates.

Matt Lemon, 22 year-old biology major, plans to graduate in winter. After graduation he plans to enroll in a clinical lab science program in San Francisco. Further down the line he hopes to work in a medical lab in Bakersfield to “test specimens from patients to determine what [diseases] they may have.”

Lily Duran, 25 year-old communications major will not be graduating this academic year but expects to complete all her classes by fall 2015. With two quarters left of classes, she plans to further her education at a graduate school in Georgia. Duran aspires to do public relations for a government or law enforcement agency.

“I see myself working for a company I love. I’ll own a big house and I hope to make my family bigger,” Duran said.

If you are in your final year or are just worried about your academic plan, speak to your adviser to make sure you’re on the right track to graduating. Soon you’ll be thinking about the bright future that lies ahead for you.