News & Events at Taft College

TC graduation May 19, 2006

--posted 5/15/06    Taft College’s two commencement speakers have one thing in common.

Both earned perfect grades as they completed requirements for a community college associate degree.

But the paths they took are starkly different.

Leslie Baker and Nanako Morimoto will be the featured speakers at Friday’s annual commencement exercise in the Taft High School Auditorium. The event begins at 7 p.m.

Morimoto chose to attend Taft College two years ago when she graduated from high school in Japan.

Baker’s journey took a 28-year detour.

She didn’t graduate from high school so she enrolled in the college’s GED program in 2003, earned her diploma and began taking college classes.

“I had been out of school for 28 years,” she said. “That’s a long time. But when my husband died I knew I had to do something.”

Baker raised two children and had a rock and blues band to 10 years before her circumstance forced her back into education.

She also found a career path that is a good fit with her concern about the environment.

“I’ll be majoring in environmental science. I would like to work in that field and also teach young people because I think that is where our future is. We need to educate them about the condition our planet is in.”

She’s already got some experience as an intern for the Bureau of Land Management at the Goodwin Education Center in the Carrizo Plains National Monument.

Taking life science courses at Taft College helped.

“That got me excited. (Life science professor) Craig Johnson opened my eyes to the potential for a career in this field.”

Baker isn’t sure where she will pursue an advanced degree in environmental science.

“I’ve been accepted at six different universities, but haven’t made a decision yet.”

Wherever she decides to go she will take a little cash along.

She has been awarded six scholarship totaling $1,800.

Morimoto knows where she will be studying next fall—California State University Bakersfield majoring in psychology with a goal of becoming a therapist.

Like her fellow commencement speaker, she too had to overcome barriers.

“When I came here I could barely speak English,” she said.

She took an English-as-a-second-language class and another course in writing fundamentals her first semester.

“Language was the hardest adjustment I had to make,” she said, so at first she relied heavily on a hand-held electronic dictionary.

“I don’t have to use if very often anymore unless there is a word I don’t understand.”

Adjusting to college dorm life also was challenging.

“That was pretty hard because you have to live with someone else and have no privacy.”

Cuisine was another obstacle.

“Food was another hard thing. It was difficult adjusting to the cafeteria food, but in March I moved into an apartment so now I can cook and I have some privacy.”

Despite the obstacles, Morimoto said she will treasure her experiences at TC.

“I learned so many things and met so many people that helped me along.”

The small size of the college and community were a plus.

“When I was choosing a college, I asked the travel agent to find a community college in California that had dorms and was in a small community.”

Taft fit the bill.

“And it was the cheapest,” she added.

Residence hall fees were the lowest and the college has a unique textbook rental program.

More than 200 students are candidates for Associate in Arts and Associate in Science degrees and vocational certificates.

Dr. Henry Yong, vice president of instruction, will present plaques to the top scholars in the class.

A reception in the campus quad will follow the ceremony.