Merced College held its 62nd commencement ceremony on the evening of Friday, May 23, at Don Odishoo Stadium on the Merced campus.
MC President Chris Vitelli announced that the college conferred 3,445 degrees and certificates in the 2024–25 academic year. More than 1,260 students were eligible to walk the stage as part of the Class of 2025. Family members, friends and faculty filled the stands —many waving blue and gold — to cheer the graduates as diplomas were awarded. Traditional touches, from Isaiah Davis’ stirring National Anthem to the final recessional, framed an evening honoring student achievement.
“This degree isn’t just a credential — it’s a statement that resilience lives here, that hope lives here, that the future — your future — is bright, earned and ready right here at Merced College,” Vitelli told the graduates.
He then celebrated academic excellence among peers — 316 students earning honors for a GPA of 3.5 or better — and 60 achieving Superintendent’s Honors with a perfect 4.0 — before saying, “You’ve juggled jobs, classes, kids, deadlines and that one group project … and still somehow managed to show up with your head held high.”
Laughter and applause rippled through the crowd as Vitelli underlined that even on days students felt like giving up, “You didn’t.”
Congressman Adam Gray, a Merced College alumnus, delivered the keynote address, weaving personal narrative with a call to action. He recounted early career setbacks, losing his first congressional race by a slim margin and then winning it by a similarly slim margin in 2024, to show that: “When you know what’s right, when you know you have more to give, don’t let anything stop you. When you’re dealt a lousy hand, don’t despair; have faith in yourselves just as your family and loved ones have faith in you, just as I, and the faculty and administration here, have faith in you.”
Gray cast graduates as the Valley’s next generation of problem-solvers: health-care providers, teachers, entrepreneurs and civic leaders. “The training and job preparation you receive here will propel you out into the world to finally take a swing at solving these issues facing our community,” he said, pointing to nursing shortages and housing gaps as challenges graduates are equipped to tackle.
The evening’s emotional high came from student speaker Payal Nunes, an early-childhood educator who emigrated from Fiji at 18. Introducing herself, Nunes waved to her family who had flown in from the South Pacific. She then reflected on shared struggles.
“Success … isn’t just about getting good grades or earning a degree; it’s about the growth that happens along the way. Late nights in the library, friendships forged over shared struggles, and the professors who believed in us even when we doubted ourselves.”
Nunes closed by uniting her classmates under Merced College’s ethos of perseverance: “No matter where we’re going, we carry with us the lessons of resilience, adaptability and compassion that Merced College has instilled in us.”
Before and between speeches, the ceremony sparkled with energy: student-veterans received special recognition, the blue-and-gold crowd erupted in cheers, and Isaiah Davis’s guitar-accompanied rendition of the Anthem set an uplifting tone. Laughter followed a light-hearted moment when Vitelli teased graduates about “hooping and hollering” through a “long party,” reminding everyone this was indeed a celebration.
In her closing remarks, Board of Trustees President Carmen Ramirez captured the collective sentiment: “Tonight represents years of hard work not only from our graduates, but from the family members, educators and support systems behind them. Merced College is proud to honor the Class of 2025 and the bright future they represent for our region.”