Not even the threat of rain could put a damper on Hancock College's 87th commencement ceremony Friday afternoon.

Under a gray, cloud-filled sky, 300 students received their degrees, as some 2,000 of their friends, family, and loved ones looked on.

College Vice President Anna Davies gave the welcoming remarks on behalf of President José Ortiz; Associated Student Body President Jeff Hamsher also spoke.

Congresswoman Lois Capps, D-Santa Barbara, delivered the key-note address.

“I look at you today with a great sense of optimism and joy ... In fact, as I look out at you today, I believe we are here, today, at the commencement of a renaissance,” Capps said. “Through your generation's increased participation in our democracy, service to our community and dedication to your families, you have reawakened my hope that we can help turn this nation, this world, onto a better course.

“You have the talent, and the creativity, the heart and the soul, the educational and the spiritual resources to find solutions to the pressing problems of energy, poverty, health care, inequity and war ... but no pressure, right?”

The diverse, 780-members of the Class of 2008 - who ranged in age from 17 to 68 - earned a total of 1,062 associate in arts or science degrees in 59 different subject areas.

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Of the graduates, 166 graduated with honors for maintaining a grade-point average of 3.5 or above.

Twelve of those students maintained a 4.0 GPA or better, including Danielle Hollinger of Vandenberg Air Force Base, a working mother of two who will transfer to the University of Maryland in the fall to pursue her degree in English.

The night before Friday's ceremony, the college held its annual banquet to honor those graduates whose lights shown particularly bright.

At the banquet, the Allan Hancock Foundation awarded more than $314,000 in scholarships.

However, it was Silvia Lucatero who was awarded the college's top honor, the prestigious Marian Hancock Scholarship, named for the late Marian Hancock, wife of Capt. G. Allan Hancock, for whom the college was named.

The scholarship is given to the most outstanding and deserving student of the academic year.

During her tenure at Hancock, Lucatero managed to maintain a straight “A” average while being active in numerous clubs and student organizations.

However, it's not as though Hancock's stand-out scholar is a stranger to academic success - she was also the valedictorian of the Cuyama High School Class of 2005.

This fall, Lucatero will head to UCLA, where she plans to complete a degree in physiology before moving on to medical school.

On Friday, the sun finally broke through the clouds just as the first set of graduates' names were called.

The dense crowd gathered at the campus commons was standing-room only.

As Rebecca Elizabeth Martinez's was called up to receive an associate of science degree in administration of justice, her family stood and whooped heartily.

Martinez's 7-year-old son, Elijah Oropeza, cheered the loudest.

“She's a great person,” Elijah said of his mom, who gave birth to him at 16. “She's always doing good in school.”

Inspired by his mother, Elijah said he definitely wants to go to college someday “to get his dream job,” playing professional baseball.

Martinez plans to begin training to become a detention officer with Ventura County, where she will work with teens in the county's youth camp.

Graduates Reina Chavez and Evette Diaz basked in the glow of their accomplishments Friday.

“It took a while, but I had a lot of fun,” Chavez, who will transfer to Chapman University in the fall to get a bachelor's degree in sociology.

Diaz, who will also transfer to Chapman, but plans to get her degree in psychology, said she participated in the graduation ceremony to serve as an example for her three children.

“I feel really great,” she said with a broad smile. “It's been a rough road, but we've succeeded.”

Natalie Ragus can be reached at 347-4580 or nragus@santamariatimes.com.

May 24, 2008