For Immediate Release
May 26, 2009

Cañada College to Recognize U.S. Rep. Anna Eshoo, a 1975 Graduate, at This Year’s Commencement Ceremony

Eshoo will be honored at the 39th annual commencement ceremony May 29

U.S. Rep. Anna Eshoo, a 1975 graduate of Cañada College, will receive a special Alumni of Distinction Award at the annual commencement ceremony to be held Friday, May 29.

The college will honor a graduating class of approximately 250 students. They will be receiving associate degrees and professional certificates in a variety of subjects. The ceremony will be held from 5:30 to 7 p.m. in the college’s Main Theater, located at 4200 Farm Hill Blvd., in Redwood City.

This year’s valedictorian is Nancy Yousef, a Persian immigrant and single mother who arrived in the United States in 2002. She has been attending Cañada College since 2005 and will transfer into the prestigious Sequoia Hospital/San Francisco State University Baccalaureate Nursing Program this fall.

“I arrived in the United States to study health care,” she said. “My first goal was to earn a certificate in radiology. I didn’t even consider a nursing degree because of the advanced course load. But as I progressed in my studies and began succeeding in my classes I decided to go for the higher degree.”

The Sequoia Hospital/San Francisco State University Baccalaureate Nursing Program was founded in 2004 as a four-way partnership among the Sequoia Health Care District, Sequoia Hospital, Cañada College, and San Francisco State University. The classes are taught by SFSU faculty on the Cañada College campus. The program helps meet the need for nurses in south San Mateo County.

Yousef said succeeding at Cañada College has been made easier because of the school’s faculty and staff. “They have been so helpful,” she said. “When I arrived at Cañada I saw a completely different approach than I saw at other schools. Students were the highest priority.”

The commencement ceremony will also honor two other students for their contributions to campus life. Ashley Cohen and Alex Garcia will receive the 2008 President’s Student Leadership Award. Both students were involved with a variety of student clubs.

For more information, contact Robert Hood, Director of Marketing and Public Relations, at hoodr@smccd.edu or 306-3340