 |
 |
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| For Immediate Release | Contact: Frances Squire |
| May 11 , 2009 | Phone: (559) 934-2134 |
West Hills College Lemoore graduation ceremony planned
The West Hills College Lemoore graduation ceremony is scheduled for Thursday, May 21st at 6:30 p.m. on the college campus at 555 College Ave.
West Hills College Lemoore’s graduation will feature the presentation of the Spirit of the Eagle Award to long-time adjunct instructor Ed Galdrikian.
Ed Galdrikian – WHCL Spirit of the Eagle
Ed Galdrikian will be honored with the Spirit of the Eagle, WHCL’s highest award, for serving as the district’s longest-serving instructor. He started teaching part-time for West Hills in 1967.
Galdrikian first went to work as a teacher at Hanford High in 1958 after his graduation from California State University, Fresno. After three years, he switched to Washington Union High School on the south end of Fresno where he taught for 35 years before retiring in 1996.
Galdrikian has been teaching English and Humanities classes at West Hills since the spring of 1967, the second semester classes were offered in Lemoore. He has seen enrollment grow from a handful of students to more than 4,000 students taking classes at West Hills College Lemoore today.
First he taught for the district in the training center at Naval Air Station Lemoore. Next classes were taught at Akers School on the base. They then moved to Lemoore High School when the college had offices in downtown Lemoore.
In the mid-1980s, West Hills opened a center at 19th and Cinnamon where it offered classes until the new campus opened in January of 2002.
Galdrikian was honored by the NAS, Lemoore higher education center as its instructor of the year in 2001.
Gladrikian says he plans to substitute teach during his retirement.
The graduation ceremony for West Hills College Coalinga is slated for Friday, May 22nd at 6:30 p.m. in the Coalinga High School football stadium due to construction on the WHCC campus.
###
West Hills Community College District serves the west side of the San Joaquin Valley and is part of the California Community College System. Its two colleges, West Hills College Coalinga, which includes North District Center, Firebaugh, and West Hills College Lemoore, serve more than 7,000 students on campus and online each semester.