Sierra College celebrates one of its largest graduating classes in its history

Tears of joy, pride and perhaps a little relief trickled down Brittani Simpkins' face after she walked the stage at Sierra College's graduation ceremony last Friday night. It took 10 long, challenging years, but Simpkins, a single mom of a young son, is now a Sierra College graduate with an AA degree in Deaf Studies. "It has been really difficult. It took me a long time to get this degree; I had a lot of delays in life as we all do and I also have a son who has autism and ADHD," she said. "So I just kept pushing through and kept motivating myself and I got to where I am today." Simpkins was one of 626 students who planned to participate in this year's graduation ceremony. Sierra College Information Officer Josh Morgan says this was one of the largest ceremonies in the school's history. Ecstatic graduates and their loved ones jam-packed the Sierra College stadium. Morgan says this ceremony was especially momentous for many students who didn't get to walk the stage for their high school graduations due to the pandemic. "A lot of these students didn't have a chance to have a traditional graduation due to COVID," Morgan said, "and this is their chance to walk on stage and be celebrated for their work and also for their family to be able to participate." Overall, 2,224 students received diplomas or certificates from Sierra College. The youngest graduate was 16 years old; the oldest? 80 years old! Morgan says more people from different walks of life are opting for community college and there will likely be even more in the near future. "There's a lot of benefits to it. One is the money you can save. Two is that not everybody is ready to go off to college right away," Morgan says. "And then there's other things like being able to get classes or deciding you want to work a little bit while you're going to college. And all of these things together lead to those sorts of decisions." As for Simpkins, she is close to also finishing her AA degree in Business Studies and plans to open her own temp agency specifically for deaf people. Simpkins says having the ability to attend community college on her own timeline was a blessing. Her message is that anyone can accomplish what she did … with grit and determination. "I'm here … I'm here!" Simpkins exclaimed, gazing around the stadium as other graduates walked the stage, each one with a unique story and life challenge. "Anyone can do it. Believe in yourself. Don't wait on others to push you. You gotta push yourself."