By William Rochester
SIATech Los Angeles held its graduation ceremony Friday, August 23, 2019, at the Los Angeles Convention Center. The graduation ceremony was done in conjunction with the Los Angeles Job Corps Center. It was a very beautiful ceremony that included a total of 62 SIATech graduates. The class valedictorian was Ms. Josephina Phillips who graduated with a GPA of 4.00. The class salutatorian was Ms. Martha Villalobos who successfully completed the high school program with a GPA of 3.92.
There were two speakers that gave inspiration and encouragement to the graduates, Mr. Fred Jackson and Ms. Brittany S. Hall. Mr. Fred Jackson began as a trainee at Los Angeles Job Corps back in the late 1970s. After leaving Job Corps he worked for Amtrak for 23 years as the Director of Safety and eventually retired from railroading while employed by Metrolink. Mr. Jackson spoke to the graduates about his experience at Job Corps and how Job Corps prepared him for his career path. He encouraged the graduates to use the skills gained and the connections made at Job Corps to propel them to their next phase in life. Ms. Brittany Hall is an actress that has a recurring role on the HBO hit series “Ballers.” She gave a heartfelt speech to the graduates telling them to follow their dreams and to always believe in themselves.
SIATech continues to prepare students for success and produce students that are ready to take on new career paths with honesty and integrity.
