News Release

CONTACT: Della Elliott, Public Information, (619) 644-7690, della.elliott@gcccd.edu

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                               June 1, 2006

Cuyamaca College valedictorian finds academic success ‘in my own way’

4.0 graduate now international
studies-linguistics major at UCSD

EL CAJON – – By her own admission, Cuyamaca College valedictorian and commencement speaker Dianna Wilcox has never been big on conformity. Doing things the usual way isn’t in her nature.

Her high school years started with great promise, but stalled toward the end, cut short by too many rules and a bright, but stubbornly independent young woman’s reluctance to follow convention. Active in high school in the Key Club, drama, and cheerleading, Wilcox also excelled academically, taking AP (Advanced Placement) college-level classes. She was every guidance counselor’s dream student.

Toward the end of her junior year, Wilcox took a sharp detour from what had been a carefully plotted path to college and began skipping classes with increasing regularity. She felt constrained by school, she said, and lost interest in her classes. By her senior year, she quit going altogether. The star student had become a high school dropout.

Although she obtained her GED, or high school equivalency credential in 2001, Wilcox said pursuing an education wasn’t a priority at that point in her life and she earned enough as a waitress to get by.

But boredom set in and three years after shirking high school, Wilcox decided to give education another go.

“I realized that I couldn’t be a waitress for the rest of my life,” she said.

From the first time she step foot onto the campus, Wilcox was drawn to Cuyamaca and its verdant tranquility that has soothed the anxious minds of many a college first-timer.

“It’s so beautiful and peaceful and it’s small enough for people to get to know each other,” she said. “The classes aren’t so large like at the universities that the instructors don’t even know you by name. I’d still be at Cuyamaca today, if I could.”

A mid-year graduate who obtained her university transfer degree with a perfect 4.0 GPA, Wilcox has been attending UCSD as an international studies-linguistics major with an African studies minor. Now sitting in lecture halls with as many as 200 students, Wilcox said she’s challenged by the academic rigor of UCSD, but she misses the intimacy of Cuyamaca.

“One of my first classes at Cuyamaca only had 10 students,” she said. “With classes that small, you get the personalized instruction that you would never dream of at a university. Even if I had stayed in high school and gone straight to a university, I know I would have dropped out by now. Cuyamaca prepared me well for UCSD, both academically and on a personal level.”

Wilcox also credits Cuyamaca for providing a new path toward academic achievement, one not so straight and narrow that it didn’t allow for the occasional meander or the exploration of new ideas.

“As a high school dropout, I was not afforded the opportunity to take a traditional path to my education,” she said at Wednesday’s outdoor commencement, where a nature preserve and surrounding hills of Rancho San Diego served as a fitting backdrop for the photos and video commemorating a milestone event.

Alluding to her unconventional schooling, Wilcox told the audience that the reason why she’s been able to succeed this time around is because she’s getting an education by her own terms with exposure to a wide spectrum of ideas.

“There are two main philosophies that I live my life by,” she said. “The first of which is to always think outside the box and be original.

“Personally, I have never been one to take the traditional approach to anything. This is why I am so thankful to have had an opportunity to explore my educational options and goals on my own time, and in my way.”

Dr. Geraldine M. Perri, college president, praised the faculty and staff during her welcoming remarks at the ceremony, saying it is to their credit that students like Wilcox are able to find their niche and continue on to further success.

“Today’s commencement, with 374 associate degree graduates and 207 certificate recipients, affirms that Cuyamaca College is a vibrant educational institution, with a high-quality academic program and comprehensive student support services,” she said. “It is an institution with caring and supportive staff and administration.”

As for Wilcox’s future goals, she says jokingly that she’d love to be a puppeteer on Sesame Street, but concedes a degree in international studies from UCSD probably won’t open too many doors in the fanciful world of Big Bird and the Cookie Monster.

“Actually, and maybe this sounds about as crazy as working on Sesame Street, but I’d like to be with the Peace Corps and go to Africa or join Oprah in her work starting schools for the children of Africa,” she said, explaining that the loss of an uncle to AIDS at age 29 was what first got her interested in that region of the world, where the AIDS pandemic continues to take its staggering toll. “I want to do something that’s meaningful.”

Governing Board President Deanna Weeks directed her comments Wednesday to graduates, drawing chuckles when she told them to expect recurring nightmares about facing finals for classes they’re not even sure they attended.

“But you’re going to wake up and say, it’s true, you graduated from Cuyamaca College,” she said. “Your overall experience at Cuyamaca College will be an everlasting influence in your lives. Please remember the many staff and faculty who have made a positive impact on your lives.”

With commencement now past, Cuyamaca and Grossmont colleges are preparing for the start of summer session, which begins Monday, June 12, with four-, six- and eight-week classes ending Aug. 3. The enrollment fee is $26 per unit and parking is free. Grossmont College is at 8800 Grossmont College Drive in El Cajon. Cuyamaca College is at 900 Rancho San Diego Parkway in Rancho San Diego.

Online application and registration is available at www.grossmont.edu and www.cuyamaca.edu. Class schedules are also posted at the college Web sites. For phone assistance, call admission and records at Grossmont: (619) 644-7186; and at Cuyamaca: (619) 660-4275.

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