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>> I’d like to welcome to the podium Dr. Alexander Gonzalez.
[Applause] >>Thank you very much Rebecca, and good evening
to everyone. I realize I’m the only thing between you and real dinner.
[Laughter] So I’m going to try to make it quick. I
want to thank Rebecca and I want to thank the Alumni Association, and I’d also like
to express my gratitude to our emcee Tina Machua and thank everyone for coming this
evening. You heard her. Tonight the Sacramento State family recognizes eight individuals
who contributions to their professions and the community are inspiring. They have succeeded
in business, technology, education and public safety. They are deeply dedicated to both
the communities we serve and to the students of Sacramento State. I spend a lot of time
talking about the success of our alumni and this year these honorees capture the very
essence of what we are working to achieve on this campus. In other words these special
individuals demonstrate just how much Sacramento State alumni touch us daily. They keep our
neighborhoods safe, they educate our children, they employ our citizens and they help us
lead healthier and more rewarding lives. And, I’m sure you will agree, when you get the
chance to hear from them later, that their influence will spread across future generations.
These are stories that we need to tell at Sacramento State, and I can’t stress enough
what that means to us. Here’s just one example. The number of high school students who are
graduating in California peaked about 2010, this is 2012. Now it’s projected to decline
for a few years. It’s kind of went up, and it’s kind of like this. As a result the
completion for students will become even fiercer. And I want to reassure everyone that Sacramento
State will be ready. We’re becoming well known as the campus where students succeed.
We’ve seen this in the data. More and more students are selecting Sacramento State as
their number one choice when they apply to colleges, and let me tell you, that’s real.
High school student, transfer students, all these students are saying I want to go to
Sac State. These are the students in the high schools and the community colleges, not just
from the region, but from all over the state. They want to follow in the footsteps of those
that we are honoring tonight. So that they may become the next success stories at Sacramento
State. But we need to hear these stories, and we need to hear your stories. That’s
why we made alumni a major part of our new initiative on the campus for the future of
Sacramento State. We call it Redefine the Possible. And Redefine the Possible includes
even more extensive outreach into the community. In fact, one of the values of the initiative
is for Sacramento State to become a source of pride in the region and beyond. And as
alumni, you’re our best examples. You inspire today’s students and give hope for the students
of tomorrow. And I just want to point out that we have some students right here in the
center, I don’t want to embarrass them, but they’re part of our Guardian Scholars
program. I see these kids, they’re going to be successful. They like Sacramento State.
Hopefully they’ll love Sacramento State. That’s the future for us. So I just want
to recognize the Guardian Scholars. [Applause]
And I want to thank Margo Bach for providing them the opportunity to be here this evening,
another one of our alums. Thank you. [Applause]
All of you here this evening, all of the alums that we are going to honor, all of the alums
that are involved with us, you prove that success begins here with a Sacramento State
education. Thank you, thanks for the support, enjoy the evening. Now you can really eat.
Thank you.