Three Peralta Colleges receive Equity Champion of Higher Education Award

Farhad Golriz, Tayler Shaw, and Jose Hernandez

December 7, 2020

The inaugural Equity Champions of Higher Education awards took place on November 19, a ceremony that honored community colleges with accomplishments in academic success for Black and Latino students who earned associate degrees for transfer. Hosted by California Secretary of State Alex Padilla, the virtual event recognized over 100 community colleges and 23 CSU campuses, including Laney College, Berkeley City College and College of Alameda. Each received the 2020 Equity Champion of Higher Education award for outstanding achievements in associate degrees for transfer for African American and Latino students.

Laney College President Rudy Besikof graciously accepted the award. “It’s an honor to be recognized,” he said. “Associate degrees for transfer have become an important guarantee toward student success. It’s great that African American students and Latino students are earning this award as they work hard towards their bachelor’s degree or other educational goals.”

On behalf of Berkeley City College, President Angelica Garcia accepted the 2020 Equity Champion in Higher Education award for having consistently committed to close equity gaps.

Lastly, President David Johnson of Merritt College accepted the inaugural 2020 Equity Champion in Higher Education award. “I want to thank The Campaign for College Opportunity for this important and prestigious honor that you bestowed upon Merritt College,” he said. “And we pledge to continue to meet the mark as well and look forward to being with you to celebrate like this hopefully for years to come. So thank you.”

The ceremony ended with an announcement that on December 9 at 5 pm, the Campaign for College community is hosting the three leaders of our California higher education systems. University of California President Michael Drake, California State University Chancellor elect Joe Castro and Community College Chancellor Eloy Oakley, will be speaking on the future of higher education and how to move through 2021 after the pandemic.

About the Contributors

Farhad Golriz, Staff Writer

Farhad Golriz is an Iranian-American that was raised in Berkeley. He is interested in politics and foreign affairs – in particular, the Middle East. Farhad enjoys writing about events that have happened in other parts of the world and his goal is to be able to speak up for those who feel their voices are not being heard. Farhad’s goal is to one day become a Journalist and he is very honored to be a staff writer for The Citizen at Laney College.

Tayler Shaw, Staff Writer

Tayler Shaw is 19 and was raised in Oakland, originally born in Pleasanton. Currently enrolled in Laney College, she wants to major and achieve in Journalism. Her interests have always been reading and writing, which she takes very seriously and finds joy in. She loves to write out stories and be very creative, journalism is very much new to her so she’s hopeful that she’ll make it in this field. Tayler is very outgoing and intelligent but can be very shy and quiet. It takes time for her to adjust to new things and new people. She loves pictures and is a super goofball when you get to know her. She is very proud of who she is and who she’s becoming as she tries to be a light for those she interacts with. Tayler loves everything and everyone, is grateful for her family and friends and tries to smile even on her worst days.

Jose Hernandez, Staff Writer

Jose Hernandez is a second year student at Laney college with a goal is to transfer to San Francisco State University and obtain a degree in journalism. His passion has always been writing and reading. He loves to write about interesting stories and share them whenever possible. He also hopes to focus on entertainment journalism as he likes writing about feature films in his spare time as a hobby. He’s pretty much new to journalism but hopes to learn as much as he can.