Porterville Adult School celebrated 428 graduates from the High School Diploma and Career Technical Education programs on Tuesday at Porterville Church of the Nazarene.
Dr. Larriann Torrez, Director of Porterville Adult School greeted the thousands of family members and friends gathered to celebrate the graduation of their loved ones.
Torrez celebrated with students, saying "their countless hours of hard work, challenges overcome, and growth experienced," helped unlock new doors in their lives, and they've stepped through with courage and determination. “Education is a key to countless opportunities, and with a diploma or certificate in hand they are equipped with skills and knowledge to excel in a rapidly changing world." Also "remember education is a lifelong journey and every experience is a chance to unlock a new door."
Kimberly Angeles, Jorge Arredondo, and Imelda del Rocio Parra de Venegas welcomed and thanked Porterville Unified School District Administrators and Board members, Torrez, faculty and the PAS team of teachers and mentors who guided them with patience, love, and support, as well as family and friends.
Angeles said PAS CTE students were celebrating a milestone with their graduation. And she spoke about learning to balance the CTE program with work, college, her family, and life, but they would all be starting a new chapter after graduation.
She feels she now has the confidence, experience and skills to be a medical assistant in the health industry and complete her goal to be a registered nurse.
”It’s never too late to start a change, it doesn’t matter how old you are” and she quoted her father, “Your education is something no one can take from you.”
She especially thanked Ms. Santoyo who supported her on her journey in the medical field and helped lay the foundation for many in the program. “Your dedication, support, and passion is why my classmates and I are here today.
“Thank you to our loved ones, for their love, support and sacrifice, and for believing in us. Despite the hardships faced by some, we are celebrating our accomplishments today.
“Congratulations PAS Class of 2025. We made it.”
Arredondo thanked everyone for their support, faculty and friends and the 2025 graduates. He spoke about not just getting the diploma, but the journey shared to get there. The countless hours of studying in classrooms, studios, and labs and where their passions and challenges led them.
He said they’ve grown and supported each other, gained knowledge, skills and resilience, and encouraged each other to believe in their potential, embracing future opportunities.
”Thank you parents, families, friends, and we are grateful for the encouragement, love, and support. Thank you teachers, advisors, and mentors for sharing your knowledge, wisdom, and passion with us. You’ve inspired us to think critically and pursue our dreams, and you’ve not only educated our minds, but you’ve shaped our characters.
“We are so grateful for your dedication.
“Class of 2025, get ready to take whatever comes next, and let’s go make our mark.”
del Rocio Parra de Venegas spoke in Spanish. She thanked PUSD Board President Lillian Durbin and other board members, as well as Torrez, and the team of teachers who helped fulfill her dreams with love and patience.
Venegas said originally she's from Tapatitlan de Morelos, in Los Altos de Jalisco, Mexico. She’s been married 34 years, has two children and a handsome grandson. Her family was large. She is the 10th of 16 children, and she was the first to finish primary school.
Her parents were humble and hardworking, and her older siblings helped her father in the fields or mother at home. There was no time to study. Her father had a saying, “You don’t need an education to change diapers.”
Imelda said, “Today is a dream. A dream that was so far away.” But she set goals, “and now realizes, no matter how long it takes, if you want it, you can achieve it.”
In 1991, she came to the U.S. And one day, she decided to become a citizen, but for her it was a huge challenge, because she had to learn English. “But I'm very stubborn, and if I set my mind to something, I don't stop until I achieve it, no matter how long it takes. And I achieved it in 2017.”
After a while, Imelda started taking classes to complete the HiSet diploma, another huge challenge because she had only a primary education, but she knew she could do it.
Her mother became ill and passed away, so Imelda stopped for a while. In 2019 she started to study again, passed her exams at the end of the year, and then came COVID-19. She stopped studying, and near the end of the pandemic her father became ill. She took him to Mexico, had to travel a lot and couldn’t study. He got worse and passed away. It was an emotional speech.
She decided to finish her exams for the Spanish HiSet in 2024, and finished the requirements on February 20.
“It wasn’t easy, as nothing in life is easy,” she said, “but with a lot of effort, and courage you can achieve anything you set your mind to.”
Imelda encouraged the young people, and not so young, to never stop reaching for their dreams, never give up, no matter how long it takes, and never get discouraged. Imelda thanked her family, her husband, and children for their support. And the family and friends of her classmates for supporting and believing in them and for “having confidence, pursing their dreams and achieving their goals.
”Thank you, Let the party continue.”
PAS instructors and and California Council for Adult Education members presented graduates with scholarships, and high school diploma and high school equivalency graduates were presented by Assistant Director Denise Douglas.
Afterwards the diplomas were given to PAS graduates, CTE graduates and Tule River Tribal graduates and scholarship recipients. PAS instructors, PUSD Administrators and Board members, and other dignitaries congratulated everyone, shaking their hands as they all walked across the stage.