Families, staff and professors from all departments came together to celebrate distinguished Citrus College students in the Haugh Performing Arts Center.
The 56th Annual Achievement Awards Ceremony on May 30 awarded one female and male Athlete of the Year, 10 Key of Knowledge students, two Service Leaders of the Year and 100 Distinguished Student awards, out of a student body of nearly 20,000.
The ceremony began when John Vaughan, dean of visual and performing arts, introduced Superintendent/President Geraldine M. Perri, who made a speech welcoming everybody in the ceremony and thanking the Board of Trustees, faculty, staff and families for supporting students and make it possible for them to achieve success.
“This event is one of my favorite ones of the year since it’s all about recognition and celebration,” Perri said. “It validates that the mission of Citrus College is being met.”
Josh Caston, male athlete of the year, was introduced by the men’s basketball coach Brett Lauer, who shared a bit of Caston’s story.
Due to an injury, Caston underwent surgery on his toe and had a bad reaction to the anesthesia. He spent 10 weeks of the semester crossed-eyed as a result, and after the surgery, he waited four weeks for the stitches to dissolve with his eyes closed.
“He spent four weeks in pretty much darkness,” Lauer said.
Then, he had to have another surgery on his toe. Caston spent a year without playing basketball.
Yet, with a 3.95 GPA, Caston was the Citrus leading scorer upon his return, as well as the Western State Conference player of the year and the all-state first team player. Caston also set a school and state record of 48 points, in a game that Citrus had lost three years in a row.
Ibrahim Abboud was one of the recipients of the Key of Knowledge award, the highest academic honor granted by Citrus College to 10 students with the highest overall academic performance on campus.
Biology instructor Arnold Kondo made a joke in the beginning of his speech for Abboud saying he worked hard to keep his speech under 250 words, but “based upon colleagues, I should like, rip this up and just throw it away.”
Kondo said Abboud worked hard in his Human Anatomy course in a six-week session, which Kondo referred as being “pretty brutal.”
“It can be very taxing. Ibrahim performed exceptionally well, he was the leader of the class that semester,” Kondo said.
Abboud came from Syria in November 2016.
“It’s something to be proud of. It’s an achievement that pushes me to go further and achieve my aims,” Abboud said.
The Service Leader of the Year was presented to Associated Students of Citrus College Vice President Makayla Pedroza and Kyshawna Denise Johnson.
After turning 18 years old, Johnson lived in her car for six months after her grandmother stopped getting government support from the foster care program.
She was presented by adjunct counselor Leina Saikali, who was a big help of Johnson to achieve success at Citrus College.
“When I met Leina, I was living in my car and that was the most darkest place of my life, but she was the light of my life at that moment,” Johnson said.
Johnson serves as a youth ambassador for the state of California, helping foster youth facing homelessness.
“Kyshawna’s life mission is to be a voice for the voiceless, using her own story to empower and motivate people of all backgrounds,” Saikali said.
Johnson is writing an autobiography titled “The DNA Exchange” with the goal to help empower others to reach for their dreams regardless of their challenges.
“I think my sacrifice and my resilience allowed me to get to this place. Not giving up and striving and thriving,” Johnson said. “It’s been incredible, I’m honored.”
The Distinguished Student award was given to students who have demonstrated high academic performance in a given program. A hundred students won this award.
Taylor Macadam was one of the students that won the Distinguished Student award in business.
“I feel elated. I kinda didn’t know I was gonna win one,” Macadam said.
The Citrus Singers performed three times in the night with a choreographed dance.
The ceremony ended with Claudette E. Dain, vice president finance and administrative services, congratulating the students’ academic success and thanking the people who made the event possible for that night, which will be remembered for the rest of the life of those students and inspire other Citrus College students to always strive for their best.
