Larry Machado strongly favors the Manteca Adult School graduation ceremony.
And for good reason.
"I know what they put themselves through and how life-changing (earning a High School Equivalency Certificate) can be," he said at Thursday evening's special event.
Honored were a few from the Class of 2021 along with members of Class of 2022 and those earning Industrial Certifications.
Machado, who is the lead counselor at the adult school program, has 32 years of experience in education.
He noted that the Equivalency credential is like a diploma from one of the Manteca Unified high schools.
However, those in the adult school program are older with perhaps a family to support, working two jobs along with juggling their studies.
"It's all about where they are in life and their individual situation," Machado said.
He added that top two academic students for the Class of 2022 were Emerson Rene Nerio Martinez and Samantha Olivo.
Principal Brad Harrison hopes that this group will move forward by continuing to build on the opportunity they created.
It could be in the work force or higher education.
"Be life-long learners," Harrison said to the new graduates.
The complete list includes:
· Class of 2021 – Yessica Alanis, Maricruz Machuca, Camerino Pineda.
· Class of 2022 – Laurie Breakfield, Carlos Carrilla, Ana Carrillo, Wendy Corrales Vergara, Monica Corona Sandoval, Patricia Cura, Nancy Kathryn Dominguez, Santos Flores, Carolina Garcia, Ramiro Gomez, Isidro Gonzalez, Olga Nduko Harris, Stephanie Hernandez, Clara Hughes, Alexis Monique Lomas, Andres Monje Libreros, Emerson Rene Nerio Martinez, Fidel Nuno, Samantha Olivo, Trevor Rickner, Roberta Roberts, Joseph Rodriguez, Rubi Rodriguez, Julia Tampson Dawn Sablan, Jennifer Solorio, Pablo Solorzano Martinez, Russell Tiffany, Jiovanny Joel Torres Ramirez, Raquel Trujillo, Khant Wunna.
· Industrial Certifications – Forklift Certifications, Dinora Aguilar, Yesica Baires Alvarado, Kevin Canas, Rafael Chacon, Maria Cisneros, Fernando Gomez, Patricia Gonzalez, Diana Guerrido, Adolph Gutierrez, Michael Harper, Taurus Kohn, Jessica Lizarraga, Emerson Rene Nerio Martinez, Rene Alberto Nergio Mendez, Isabel Rodriguez, Jose Salvador Cortez Sanchez, Denzel Smith, Wunna Soe; IC3 Sparks Global Standards, Navreet Kaur, Patty Quiroz; Electricity Fundamentals, Brandon Baldwin, Marko Bjelovitic, Jordan Davis, Florendo Medina, Jose Ramirez.
