Long Beach City College celebrates its graduating class of 2026 – Press Telegram - California News Beep

More than 1,000 graduates smiled, waved and celebrated as they crossed the stage at Veterans Memorial Stadium on Thursday, June 11, for Long Beach City College’s 2026 commencement ceremony.

LBCC serves over 35,000 students each semester from the cities of Long Beach, Lakewood, Signal Hill and Avalon.

This academic year, the college gave out 7,000 awards – including degrees and certificates – and a total of 8,000 students were candidates to graduate. LBCC had more than 1,472 students participate in this year’s graduation ceremony, making it one of the largest commencement ceremonies to date, according to Carl Kemp, associate vice president for public affairs and marketing at the college.

Valedictorian Nathalia Miyamura addresses her fellow graduates at Long Beach...

Valedictorian Nathalia Miyamura addresses her fellow graduates at Long Beach City College’s commencement ceremony on Thursday, June 11, 2026, at Veterans Stadium in Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)

School superintendent and president Mike Munoz addresses graduates at Long Beach City College’s commencement ceremony on Thursday, June 11, 2026, at Veterans Stadium in Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)

A graduate enters carrying the flag of Mexico at Long Beach City College’s commencement ceremony on Thursday, June 11, 2026, at Veterans Stadium in Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)

A member of the Class of 2026 marches in at Long Beach City College’s commencement ceremony on Thursday, June 11, 2026, at Veterans Stadium in Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)

Graduating students are greeted by proud faculty members at Long Beach City College’s commencement ceremony on Thursday, June 11, 2026, at Veterans Stadium in Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)

Rebecca Collins, who addressed fellow graduates about her path from homelessness to a degree, exits the stage with her diploma at Long Beach City College’s commencement ceremony on Thursday, June 11, 2026, at Veterans Stadium in Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)

Graduates walks off the stage with diplomas in hand at Long Beach City College’s commencement ceremony on Thursday, June 11, 2026, at Veterans Stadium in Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)

A graduating student sends some love towards the crowd at Long Beach City College’s commencement ceremony on Thursday, June 11, 2026, at Veterans Stadium in Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)

Graduating senior Sebastian Menjivar, right, is greeted by his father and faculty member Franc at Long Beach City College’s commencement ceremony on Thursday, June 11, 2026, at Veterans Stadium in Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)

The Class of 2026 assembles for Long Beach City College’s commencement ceremony on Thursday, June 11, 2026, at Veterans Stadium in Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)

Graduating students enter the field to loud cheers at Long Beach City College’s commencement ceremony on Thursday, June 11, 2026, at Veterans Stadium in Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)

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The morning of festivities began with a speech by Superintendent-President Mike Muñoz, congratulating the graduating class for their success and making it to this momentous occasion.

“When you leave this field today, I hope you carry with you the certainty that you are forever part of a 100-year legacy of people who choose, despite every obstacle, despite every doubt, despite every reason to quit, to believe in themselves and their future,” Muñoz said. “That belief brought you here today, and it will carry you further than your mind can imagine.”

The class of 2026 valedictorian was Nathalia Miyamura, an international student from Brazil attending LBCC, who contributed to leadership programs, volunteer initiatives, cultural events and student organizations, while helping strengthen the international student community at the college.

“As we leave, LBCC and start our next chapter, I hope you remember that many things that are impossible at first become possible once you begin,” Miyamura said. “This moment speaks for itself, that we are proof that growth happens when we trust the process.

Today, we celebrate this achievement and the people who supported us,” she added, “and the journey that brought us here. Congratulations, class of 2026. We did it.”

Graduates also heard remarks from the special student speaker, Rebecca Collins, who shared her story of resilience, the life-changing support she received from LBCC, and her determination to turn her own experience into something that could help others.

Collins is an indigenous woman from the Adirondack Mountains of upstate New York. Before she walked onto the LBCC campus, she spent eight years being homeless, living on the riverbed off the 91 Freeway near Bellflower, Collins said. She struggled with alcohol addiction and was surviving day to day. She said her life began to change once she hit “rock bottom,” when she fell into the riverbed and was swept downstream to the 710 Freeway.

She said that recovery gave her a breath of hope — but LBCC is what gave her a future. After deciding to go to school and being accepted into LBCC, she joined the college’s safe parking program, which turned her car into her home. The college’s Basic Needs program brought her food, blankets and warmth – both physically and emotionally.

Collins began working as a student worker through the Justice Scholars program, and she said that the job became a foundation for her and inspired her to use her journey to help other students and people. She will be attending Cal State Long Beach in the fall.

“LBCC will always be my home, not just the place where I earned a degree, but the place that sheltered me when I had nowhere else to go,” Collins said. “The place that gave me dignity, stability, and the chance to rebuild my life. What LBCC has given me is priceless – lifelong friendships, mentors who believed in me long before I believed in myself, and a community that lifted me when I could not lift myself.

“I moved from my car into housing and from housing into student leadership roles and from survival mode into honor role,” Collins added. “LBCC didn’t just educate me; it transformed me. It saw something in me long before I could see it myself.”

As the Vikings donned their caps and gowns and walked across the stage to receive their degrees, their families, friends and loved ones cheered from the stands.

Long Beach City College celebrates its graduating class of 2026 – Press Telegram

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