2 Inspiring Students Among 4,826 Santa Monica College Graduates

SANTA MONICA, CA – Two inspiring students who have overcome countless obstacles will be walking across the stage June 12 at Santa Monica College (SMC) to receive their degrees. Ryan Ang and Maritza Lopez are among the 4,826 students who will receive 6,173 degrees and certificates from SMC, the largest graduating class in the college’s history.

The youngest SMC graduate this year is 16 and has completed an Associate of Arts in General Science; the oldest graduate has completed a Certificate of Achievement in Computer Business Applications at age 74.

Nely Galán, the former President of Entertainment for Telemundo and an Emmy Award-winning producer of over 700 shows in English and Spanish will be the 2018 commencement speaker. Galán is also the New York Times bestselling author of SELF MADE, Becoming Empowered Self Reliant and Rich In Every Way.

Here are two inspiring stories from SMC graduates:

Ryan Ang

When Ryan Ang was a teenager, his father went bankrupt and he had to leave school at 16 years old to help support his family.

“Creditors came to our house and seized everything for sale, and I remember thinking that I was about to become homeless,” Ang said.

Then Ang served his compulsory term in Singapore’s National Service, and eventually moved to Canada to complete his high school education. When he started school at SMC, he had plans to learn screenwriting but found his passion in serving the homeless through the church, he said. He changed his major to political science and philosophy.

He joined SMC's chapter of Phi Theta Kappa honor society with a 4.0 grade point average. Ang has acceptance letters from schools ranging from Columbia University to UC Berkeley, and plans to major in political science, philosophy, and economics in the future.

Maritza Lopez

Maritza Lopez had to overcome homelessness, financial struggles, and a starting 1.0 GPA to be the first of her family to attend college. Now, her dream to transfer to UCLA as an art history major, and someday either curate a museum of teach Latin American art history is not far off.

Although Lopez got into UCLA, she doesn't want to be congratulated just yet, she said, quoting her favorite proverb in Spanish: “El que se ríe último se ríe mejor.” The rough English translation is “Whoever laughs last, laughs better.”

In other words, she wants to celebrate when she has achieved her goal, according to SMC. Maritza Lopez is graduating from SMC with an Associate in Arts for Transfer in Art History.

More details on the June 12 commencement ceremony can be found on the graduation website: smc.edu/graduation.

The ceremony will also be webcast live and available on the SMC Alumni Association webpage. Families and friends from all over the world who are not able to attend graduation will be able to watch the ceremony and see the graduates receive their diplomas.

Photo courtesy of Andrew Boone/Santa Monica College