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Celebration of Graduates
CELEBRATION OF GRADUATES
Yakima Valley College presented its 91 st Graduating Class on June 19, 2020 with an online, live-streamed event, titled “A Celebration of our Graduates.” The celebration included both photo and video submissions from graduates, and encouraging messages from faculty, staf and administrators. Washington State Governor Jay Inslee also made a special appearance while wishing the class of 2020 the best of luck. YVC's Choir performed a rendition of the YVC Alma Mater, which served as background for a portion of the event. The celebration was streamed live over social media sites Facebook and YouTube as well as on public access channel YCTV 129. Students and their families enjoyed the end product and had a great night celebrating their accomplishments.
The graduating class of 2020 includes 1,005 students ranging in age 16 to 78. Thirteen of the students are veterans and 164 are Running Start students. This year the college awards a total of 1,044 degrees and certifcates.
Among the graduates were the frst cohort of students graduating with a Bachelor of Applied Science in Teacher Education. Twentyfve students made up this inaugural class, who started in 2018. Many of these students were already YVC graduates and members of the Yakima community with half currently working in local school districts in para-professional or support staf positions.