WHERE EDUCATION REDEFINES BOUNDARIES
Women’s Wrestling Three-Peat Championship The roar inside the gym said it all. Three years. Three championships. One unstoppable team. The Cerritos College Women’s Wrestling Team claimed its third straight 3C2A State Championship, solidifying its place among California’s elite. In one of the fastest-growing sports in the nation, the Falcons are setting the standard and making history. Four champions—Eniekeye Osede, Kinsey Konrad, Vida Beckel, and Raven Ross—brought home individual state titles. Twelve more earned All- American honors. Head Coach Dustin Kirk secured his third Coach of the Year title, leading with energy, precision, and belief in his athletes. Cerritos College isn’t just competing. We’re building champions on the mat and in life. Native Plant Sanctuary Blooms with Community Care Buzzing bees. Bright blossoms. Fresh soil under your shoes. At Cerritos College, sustainability doesn’t just grow—it thrives. The Native Plant Sanctuary, established in 2023 by faculty, staff, and students, has become a living classroom east of the Aquatic Center. The space supports local wildlife, restores native ecosystems, and reconnects people with the land. Monthly volunteer days and hands-on workshops bring students, families, and community members together to learn, plant, and protect California-native species. This is more than a garden. It’s a growing movement rooted in education, community, and care for the environment.
Team Falcons Reach for the Stars 3D models. Late-night labs. Big dreams.
Team Falcons turned an idea into innovation, advancing to Phase II of NASA’s 2025 Micro-g NExT Challenge. They are the only community college team in the nation to reach this stage. Competing alongside top universities, they designed a tool astronauts can use on the surface of the Moon. After months of design and testing, the team traveled to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, where they tested their prototype in the Neutral Buoyancy Lab, the same underwater facility used to train astronauts. From the classroom to the cosmos, Cerritos College students are proving that innovation knows no limits.
Coach Dustin brought energy and structure to our team. He believed in us, and that made all the difference. – Vida Beckel, 160-lb state champion
Not many people get to say they built and tested a device at NASA as a community college student. We collaborated with engineers, shared ideas, and proved what Falcons can do. – Danielle Diaz, Team Falcons project manager
Justice Scholars Open New Pathways At Los Padrinos, Cerritos College
brings something powerful— opportunity through education. The Justice Scholars Program helps students affected by the criminal justice system rebuild their futures through learning. Last year, the program brought Cerritos College courses inside Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall, offering both credit and noncredit classes. Many students in the system are underestimated. Inside Los Padrinos, college shows them they’re more than their record. They gain skills, confidence, and a path they carry to Cerritos College and into careers that change their future. Cerritos College turns potential into purpose, one student at a time.
The program lifted me from adversity. I’m on track to transfer to a four-year university and become a social worker who helps families in crisis. – Jennifer Guillen, Justice Scholar
Volunteering at the sanctuary showed me how small actions create big change. – Luisa Oaxaca, Biology student
8 C erritos College SOAR | 2025 EDITION
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Cerritos College SOAR | 2025 EDITION
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