Gavilan Joint Community College District
Preparing Students for a Successful Future
Celebrating Centennial Year with Stories of Student Successes
Gavilan College is celebrating its centennial year in 2019, with events and activities all year, including
a gala event looking back at its fi rst 100 years on Sept. 7, 2019, on the Gilroy campus.
The Gavilan College Educational Foundation is also
launching a drive to raise funds to ensure that all those
who seek higher education have the resources to do so.
The gala event, “Gavilan Through The Decades,” will
take place from 5:30–9:00 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 7, at the
college at 5055 Santa Teresa Blvd. in Gilroy. Tickets are
now available.
Gala guests will take a nostalgic and informative
stroll through the decades of Gavilan’s history from the
1920s to today. Guests will enjoy historical displays,
food stations with themed food from each decade, wine
stations, live music, photo booths, students in period
costume, formal portraits, live auction, silent auction, a
strolling magician, and a string quartet.
The history of Gavilan College is illustrated through
the stories of its alumni. City of Gilroy Chief of Police
Scot Smithee, for example, credits Gavilan for helping
him find and advance his law enforcement career. In
addition to leading the Gilroy Police Department, Smithee
teaches at The Academy, located at Gavilan’s Coyote
Valley campus, as well as in San Mateo and Seaside.
Right after high school, Smithee could have chosen
from three Bay Area community colleges within
20 minutes of home. When his family relocated to Gilroy,
he was grateful Gavilan College was nearby. “It was very
attractive to me there was a college here, a huge plus,”
said Smithee, “For kids to have a local option to be able
to go to school, that’s a wonderful thing.”
Alumna Michele Castro, on the other hand, was a
high school dropout, working for 25 years to support
her family. There was no money or time for school. But
in 2016, as a working adult, she enrolled at Gavilan
with determination. Two years later she graduated with
a double AA in Communication Studies and in Spanish,
Gilroy Police Chief Scot Smithee
attended Gavilan College after high school.
earning a 3.85 GPA. She was accepted as a transfer
student into San José State University, UC Santa Cruz
and UC Berkeley. “The connections I have made have
been life-changing” said Castro. “I have truly enjoyed
my educational journey and I’m excited to continue.”
Jorgé Gonzalez (Class of 2016) arrived at Gavilan
after nine years of military service. “It was a hard
shift from the military, to come back,” he says.
Gonzalez transferred to SJSU and earned a degree in
communication studies with emphasis in counseling
and public relations. “The classes allowed me to step
out of my comfort zone,” he said, “and to express
myself in a tactical manner.”
Has Gavilan College impacted, infl uenced or changed your life?
Share your Gavilan College story and submit a photo by completing the brief form located at:
http://www.gavilan.edu/student/alumni/index.php
To purchase tickets to the gala, go to.gavilan.edu
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GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN
august/september 2019
gmhtoday.com