17-05-2025
More than 300 earn advanced degrees at early morning ceremony at CSUB
Bakersfield, it seems, became a whole lot smarter early Friday morning when Cal State Bakersfield conferred 296 master's degrees and six doctoral degrees to graduate students at its Spring 2025 Graduate and Hooding Ceremony.
The mood was jubilant, the atmosphere, dynamic, even at 7:30 a.m. when many across the city were just getting their coffee.
Students dressed in the traditional cap and gown chatted and snapped photos of each other.
A short fence divided the audience from the grads, but many family members met in the middle to encourage, to share admiration, love and gratitude before the event began.
"I was a full-time student at night while I was working as a social worker," said Eunice Hernandez, 29, who received her master's degree in social work at Friday's ceremony.
Hernandez would work 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., then go to class until 9:45 p.m. Then she would get back up the next day and do it all over again. And again.
Her cousin Roslyn Hernandez, who had already earned a master's, was there to cheer her on at the fence.
"She was my example," Eunice Hernandez said of her cousin, her eyes gleaming with family pride.
Katherine Beauregard also was at Friday's commencement to collect a master's in special education, a field in which she's already working.
"I worked really hard to get here," she said. "It's my second greatest accomplishment — second to my son, Jonah."
CSUB Student Body President Erin Pruitt was there as well. Dressed in decorated cap and flowing gown, Pruitt took home an MBA, a master's degree in business administration.
As a speaker Friday, she thanked CSUB staff and faculty members, as well as friends and family, who showed up at commencement.
"The life of a student can be lonely," she told the gathering, "but your presence speaks louder than words and provides strength by showing us we are not alone."
She told her fellow graduate students that they have been an inspiration to her during her time at the university.
"Utilize the new skills you have learned and create change within your communities," Pruitt said. "Your stories continue to guide and influence the leadership of our university, and your successes create a lasting legacy beyond the walls of CSUB."
University President Vernon B. Harper Jr. also shared his thoughts about Friday's celebration. He spoke about why it matters, but also about why even a master's degree or doctorate is not enough.
"If a piece of paper is all that you take with you, your education at CSUB is incomplete," he told the graduates.
"In order to succeed in your careers — and in life — you need more than a plan or a goal or even a dream. You must have purpose.
"Purpose is the voice that tells us to keep going when we are weary and discouraged," Harper said. "Purpose is the motivation to make good on the sacrifices that our parents and loved ones have made for us.
"Purpose got you to CSUB," he said, "and purpose will take you to your next destination.
"When I close my eyes at night, I see the faces of my wife and children, and I am reminded of my purpose," Harper told the graduates.
"What is your purpose?"
