CDD Graduation Event Wrap Up

Session Beginning Date: Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Graduation Date: Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Location: Memorial Park Auditorium, Santa Monica, CA
Time: 7:00 to 9:00 pm
Emcee: Sally Cirello, CDD Instructor
Guest Speakers: Gary Binas, Motivational Speaker and Kathryn Pope, Antioch University

Names of Instructors:

House of Uhuru- Sally, Marie, Misty, Ethan
Cri-Help- Ashok, Robert, Paola, Lindsay
Walden House- Austin, Chris, Eric, Dawn

On August 25th, CDD hosted its third graduation of 2009 at Memorial Park in Santa Monica. As guests filed in, the excitement built as the graduates prepared to receive recognition for their accomplishment. At 7 PM, Sally, the Emcee, started the ceremony by welcoming everyone and recognizing the graduates.

She then introduced the first Guest Speaker, Gary Binas, a very accomplished professional and an experienced public speaker with the Toastmaster's organization. Using examples from the computer world, Gary gave an inspiring speech outlining the importance of 3 "Don’ts" for students after they leave the program: Don't be afraid, don’t stop learning, and don’t stop dreaming about tomorrow.

Following his speech, Sally introduced Antioch University's Kathryn Pope. She spoke about the Bridge Program; a fantastic Antioch offering that gives CDD graduates completely free access to a college education. She had sign up forms with her and several students decided to take advantage of this opportunity. The audience received both speeches very well.

Then, before the students came up and presented their papers, Sally introduced the Walden House Women's Choir. The choir performed a few songs to get the crowd excited, including "Presence of the Lord" and "I Believe I Can Fly."

Student presenters from each center were then called up to share their personal plans for success with the audience.

First up, Michael Glaze from Walden House talked about the steps on his journey to the top. After finishing the Walden House program, he plans to use the computer to find his dream job as a crane operator and to connect with people who came help him. Being a crane operator has been his dream since he first used one in his Navy tour in the 1980s. After his speech he received huge applause and a Walden House cheer.

Up next, Roxana from the House of Uhuru talked about her dream for a doctorate in psychology. She explained how she had always been very inclined towards learning, but had dropped out of UCLA and furthered her drug use after a false arrest forced her to miss a semester. She talked about the role of CDD in giving her computer training, but also for helping her overcome her biggest fear: going back into the classroom. She mentioned Sally in particular who helped re-spark her interest in education. Roxana will re-apply at UCLA for the fall semester.

Last up was Morris from Cri-Help. He gave a funny and inspiring speech about how computers will help him and mentioned being able to play Pacman with his granddaughter.

After these speeches, it was time for the moment everyone had been waiting for: handing out the certificates. CDD Director Kathleen Patton, speaker Gary Binas, and staff from each center formed a receiving line as the students were called up one by one for their certificates. The graduates proudly accepted their certificates and received congratulations.

After that, the official ceremony was over, but everyone stayed around for refreshments, pictures, and to talk with their families, guests, and instructors. The ceremony was a great success and a nice way to end another CDD session.