There will be some very special graduates proving that age is no barrier in education as they take the walk of honor during College of Marin's 85th Commencement on Saturday.
The youngest graduate is 16 and the oldest graduate is 72 years old. The ceremony will take place at 10 a.m. in the Irwin P. Diamond Physical Education Center Gymnasium.
Of the approximately 321 students receiving degrees and certificates this year, about 120 students will participate in the formal ceremony. College of Marin will be awarding 187 associate in arts degrees, 93 associate in science degrees and 79 certificates.
The Commencement ceremony will open with an address from Academic Senate President Sara McKinnon. Special Assistant to the Superintendent/President Angelina Duarte will introduce the student speaker, Kim Burl. President of the Board of Trustees Diana Conti will introduce the commencement speaker, Dr. Sergio Aguilar-Gaxiola, M.D., Ph.D. The ceremony will close with an address by McKinnon.
Student speaker Kim Burl was born and raised in San Francisco, California and graduated from high school in 1983 from Abraham Lincoln High School. In 1984 she started working at UCSF Medical Center. She began working towards a degree in criminal justice at Contra Costa College, and then transferred to College of Marin where she received her Certificate of Completion in Administration of Justice. Burl is transferring to Cal State University East Bay to complete her education and plans to become a juvenile probation officer.
Commencement speaker Dr. Aguilar-Gaxiola is a Professor of Clinical Internal Medicine and the Director of the Center for Reducing Health Disparities at the University of California, Davis, School of Medicine. He is an internationally renowned expert on mental health in ethnic populations.
