We have had a comeback year at West Hills College Lemoore in 22-23 as we focused our mission of the relentless pursuit of student success and lived out our theme of putting the community back in community college.
Our relentless pursuit of student success came in the form of an increase in enrollment, persistence, and completion. On May 25th we welcomed families and friends to a packed Golden Eagle Arena where we celebrated this success with a record number 800 graduates and a record number 1500 degrees/certificates awarded. We are committed to relentlessly supporting students both inside the classroom and outside of the classroom with dynamic faculty who are constantly working on creating an engaging and inclusive class environment and dynamic student support personnel who help with counseling, advising, academic, technology, and student support programs. We were also relentless in striving for institutional excellence as we completed and submitted our Institutional Self Evaluation Report (ISER) for accreditation and increased our Zero-Textbook-Cost (ZTC) course offerings which now lead to 21 Zero-Textbook Cost degrees and certificates.
Putting the community back in community college this year came in the form of a variety of cultural and community events, monthly food distributions for the community, and an increase in utilization of our Golden Eagle Pantry. We recently celebrated Eagle Dayz 2023 by welcoming 425 incoming freshmen and showcasing the vibrant and supportive community they will become part of in Fall 2023. We also took time to celebrate the achievements of our students in various programs through end-of-year events.
This past year it has been truly inspiring to witness the growth and success of our Golden Eagles. One of our students Ixchel Galindo, who recently graduated and is transferring to CSU Monterey Bay, shared some inspirational words with our college team. Ixhcel told us that she is here because of her mom who tells her daily, “Mi techo es tu suelo” which translated in English is, “My ceiling is your floor.” Our team at West Hills College Lemoore is committed to helping our students and community reach that ceiling. We recognize the determination, grit, hard work, sacrifice, obstacles, and perseverance it takes for our students and community to choose and complete college. We are grateful that you chose us to join you and support you in your journey.
Stay Golden!
James Preston