Graduation season, the time to celebrate students’ accomplishments at the end of each academic year, has ended in San Pedro with the commencement ceremony for the island’s only junior college. San Pedro Junior College (SPJC) hosted its highly anticipated graduation on Saturday, July 13th, starting at 4:30PM at the Angel Nuñez Auditorium in Ambergris Caye. Fifty-two students graduated this year with associate’s degrees in various majors. The graduation’s motto was “Recognizing attitude is everything in Business; what we obtain by achieving our goals is less valuable than what we become by achieving them through faith, justice, and diligent effort.”
The ceremony for the graduating class of 2024 was a memorable event filled with pride and a sense of community. It began with a welcoming address by Master of Ceremonies Pedro Garcia, who thanked the parents and teachers for their unwavering support. The graduates then bid farewell to their classmates and listened to an invocation and the singing of the National Anthem, ‘Land of the Free,’ led by Abel Guerrero. Following the singing, Lucas Ramos and Patricia Spain delivered their salutatory address. Assistant Commissioner of Police Howell Gillette encouraged the students, emphasizing the importance of perseverance in facing life’s challenges. Principal Emil Vasquez then presented awards to deserving students, with Neima Ozaeta and Roberto Chable honoring the recipients. Emelyn Beltran, who majored in Business Administration/Accounting with a GPA of 3.81, was recognized as the valedictorian of the graduating class. The ceremony concluded with the distribution of diplomas and the graduation song ‘I Hope You Dance’ by Lee Ann Womack, followed by a vote of thanks from Caricia King.
SPJC’s Graduating class of 2024 was a diverse and vibrant group, including students from various backgrounds and with different aspirations. The class included students like Leilani Badillo, Alexi Castillo, Tanya Chan, Alessandra Chi, Luis Choc, Angela Duran, Delcy Garcia, Eliseo Garcia, Anaseily Gilharry, Riena Guerrero, Rubiely Hernandez, Dulce Leiva, Nicole Lopez, Glaisy Mendez, Iris Narvaez, Asbin Orellana, Lucas Ramos, Sebastian Sanchez, Triana Tut, Giselle Varella, Paulene Williams, Karina Zetina and Reina Zetina who graduated with an associate’s degree in business management. Ann Alamilla, Leslie Aragon, Merlene Arevalo, Leah Balam, Emelyn Beltran, Joselin Cal, Gennezis Chinchilla, Dylan Coleman, Ramon Gonzalez, Britney Haylock, Kevin Hernandez, Carcia King, Alexie Nunez, Galvin Nunez, Francisco Mendez and Seleny Varela graduated with an associate’s degree in business administration majoring in accounting. Merberly Jimenez, Isela Rosalez, Kevin Valle, Rodrigo Martinez, Debora Silva, and Adamaris Zetina, who graduated with an associate’s degree in tourism management, and Quinesha Andrews, Shennel Brooks, Nigel Castillo, Emmanuel Hernandez, Nedwill Vidal, Patricia Spain and Chelsia Velasquez with an associate’s degree in paralegal.
The San Pedro Sun congratulates all the 2024 SPJC graduates and wishes them luck in their future endeavors!