![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/commencement_20260522_bo-web-13.jpg\")
\nMore than 6,400 students were eligible to participate in Spring Commencement 2026. (Sacramento State\/Bibiana Ortiz)<\/p>\n
May 26, 2026<\/p>\n
Sacramento State celebrated more than 6,400 new graduates along with their families and loved ones during Spring 2026 Commencement held May 22-23 at Golden 1 Center.\u00a0<\/p>\n
This year, 6,438 Hornets were eligible to\u00a0participate\u00a0in commencement. Degrees are officially awarded after commencement, following final evaluation.\u00a0<\/p>\n
They joined another 2,740 students who earned degrees in Fall 2025, making the 2025-26 graduating class the largest ever in\u00a0University\u00a0history at a projected 9,178 students.\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou are explorers on the brink of your greatest mission,\u201d President Luke Wood told the graduates. \u201cThis moment belongs to you. Today is your launch.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201c… What life holds for you from this point is uncharted. The nature of human existence is that planning, preparing, and practicing can only take you so far. The rest is a beautiful mystery, and regardless of where that takes you, just know that you can always call Sac State your hive and your home.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Young dancers from local schools performed before the ceremonies began as\u00a0grad\u00a0and their families filed into the arena and found seats.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven though times were hard, and I was struggling, I\u2019ve always kept the end goal in mind.\u201d — College of Business Deans’ Award winner Kyen Canchico<\/p>\n
Associate Vice President for Campus Life Samuel N. Jones along with Executive Director of Housing Services Nadine Kelley kept the audience pumped up as they waited for the ceremonies to start.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Wood told this year\u2019s\u00a0graduates\u00a0their experiences, especially the challenging ones, prepared them for their purpose.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe road today wasn’t easy, but these experiences have perfectly molded you into being able to change the world in a way that no one else could,\u201d Wood said. \u201cNo one could do it like you, because no one has traveled the world you have.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Several student speakers, including President\u2019s Medal winner Somaya Faruqi, had to overcome many challenges to even enroll at Sacramento State.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Faruqi fell in love with engineering as a\u00a0seven year-old\u00a0girl working in her father\u2019s car repair shop, where she could only go on certain days when other men\u00a0weren\u2019t\u00a0there. She was also on the country\u2019s first all-girls robotics team.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But when the Taliban took control of the government in 2021, Faruqi had to flee.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we stayed in Afghanistan, it would not be safe for us, so me and my eight other teammates left,\u201d Faruqi said before commencement.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She and her family eventually settled in Sacramento, where Faruqi advocates for women in Afghanistan, particularly girls interested in robotics. Her years at Sac State were spent balancing school, work, and advocacy.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m really excited,\u201d Faruqi said. \u201cI was dreaming about this from a really\u00a0young age, ever since I was working in my dad\u2019s shop and when I was on\u00a0the robotics team in Afghanistan \u2026 My parents are\u00a0really proud, especially my dad because he was my biggest supporter.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nMore than 6,400 students were eligible to participate in Spring Commencement 2026. (Sacramento State\/Bibiana Ortiz)<\/p>\n
Kyen Canchico, who was also recognized as the College of Business Deans\u2019 Award winner, juggled school, duties as a combat medic in the U.S. Army Reserves, ROTC training, and working at an Amazon warehouse in Tracy. He often slept in his car between classes and work.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven though times were hard, and I was struggling, I\u2019ve always kept the end goal in mind,\u201d Canchico said. \u201cIt\u2019s nice seeing that all the hours and effort I put in have resulted in something.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Family and friends said they were excited to see their\u00a0grads\u00a0cross the stage.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m very happy and proud,\u201d said Catarina Hernandez, who got to Golden 1 Center early Friday morning to watch her daughter, Maritza Ascencion Hernandez,\u00a0graduate. \u201cCongratulations\u00a0to the class of 2026.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
John Barkdoll’s son, also named John, worked\u00a0to\u00a0pay\u00a0his way through school without taking out student loans. He\u00a0graduated\u00a0Friday with a Business Accounting degree.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s\u00a0taken the long\u00a0path\u00a0so he\u00a0doesn\u2019t\u00a0have any debt.\u00a0He\u2019s\u00a0been going to college for six years,\u201d Barkdoll said. \u201cHe lived with me up until last year to save money, so I\u2019m really proud of him.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Barkdoll, Jr.\u2019s girlfriend Joy\u00a0Vongchareun\u00a0said he already has two job offers.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m really excited for him,\u201d she said.\u00a0\u201cWe\u2019re looking forward to our future together.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
About Jennifer K. Morita<\/p>\n
Jennifer K. Morita joined Sacramento State in 2022. A former newspaper reporter for the Sacramento Bee, she spent several years juggling freelance writing with being a mom. When she isn\u2019t chauffeuring her two daughters, she enjoys reading mysteries, experimenting with recipes, and Zumba.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By Jennifer K. Morita May 26, 2026 Sacramento State celebrated more than 6,400 new graduates along with their…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":333103,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[121,123,122],"class_list":["post-333102","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sacramento","tag-sacramento","tag-sacramento-headlines","tag-sacramento-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/333102","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=333102"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/333102\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/333103"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=333102"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=333102"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=333102"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}