Program

Dear Toro Graduates,

One of our nation’s great thinkers, Henry David Thoreau, encouraged us to “Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.” Elsewhere, the iconic freedom fighter Nelson Mandela reminded us that “education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world.” Today, we celebrate a group of strivers and scholars who have taken definitive steps to do just that, putting aside distractions and pushing past barriers in the pursuit of the lives they imagine for themselves and the change they wish to see in the world.

On behalf of the faculty, staff, senior administration, your fellow students, and our alumni of California State University, Dominguez Hills, I extend congratulations to the Class of 2025, who have spent the last several years preparing to take ownership of their futures – and those of the communities they hail from.

Commencement is a time for celebration, jubilation, retrospective reflection, and anticipatory excitement. It is a time to appreciate the road you have traveled and the purpose and journey that has brought you here. Portions of your journey may have been rougher than expected, but you kept your eyes on the prize and have grown intellectually, emotionally, socially, professionally, and maybe even spiritually during your time on our beautiful campus.

Today, you students arrive at CSUDH’s Commencement Ceremony having earned and prepared to accept a college degree for which you have been recommended by your faculty and realized a goal that you have worked diligently towards. It is a cause for much joy and exuberance, and the entire university community joins me in celebrating your hard-earned success.

Your pathway towards graduation has been influenced by many who have been involved in your lives and played critical roles in education and achievement. Today is also an opportunity to recognize and applaud your families, friends, significant others, faculty, advisors, and mentors who have supported, encouraged, motivated, taught, and inspired you to persist and succeed.

As members of the Class of 2025, you join a vibrant and growing group of over 125,000 Dominguez Hills alumni, locally and globally, who are transforming communities throughout California, the nation, and the world. Whether you plan to progress directly into a career or to attain further education at the graduate or professional school level, I encourage you to join the Alumni Association and stay connected and engaged with your CSUDH. Our Toro community is strengthened by your continued involvement and engagement.

Again, congratulations to the Class of 2025. Once a Toro, Always a Toro!

Thomas A. Parham, Ph.D.
President, California State University, Dominguez Hills

Dear Class of 2025:

As we celebrate your accomplishments today, I hope you’ll take a moment to consider how much you’ve changed since you first set foot on campus. In your time at the California State University, you have transformed yourself from someone with big dreams on a quest for knowledge into a person empowered to make limitless contributions to our world.

This transformation was inspired, supported and admired by your family, friends, colleagues and loved ones, who have cheered you on through your academic journey. It was spurred by your faculty, who have helped you develop a critical eye and a creative mind. And it was reinforced by the work of your counselors, advisors, librarians, tutors and coaches, who fostered an encouraging environment for you to persist, thrive and succeed.

You have filled all of us with pride.

You are now part of a vibrant network of well over four million CSU alumni who are powering California, the nation and the world. Together, you will solve our greatest challenges, educate the next generation, fight for democracy and a more just society, and enrich our workforce and communities with your talents.

As you continue on your exciting path forward, please stay connected to your alma mater and to the CSU. I hope you will use your connections – both to your campus and to other CSU alumni – to open new doors of possibility and to make a meaningful impact in your chosen field. I also encourage you to reach back often to support those who aspire to follow in your footsteps.

Today’s event is called “commencement” for a reason. It is not an end, but rather the beginning of your next great pursuit. May your hard work and sacrifices lead to happiness, prosperity and deep fulfillment, both in your life and in the lives of those around you.

Congratulations, California State University Class of 2025. We can’t wait to see all that you will accomplish.

Sincerely,

Mildred García, Ed.D.
Chancellor, California State University