Angelica Gutierrez
Commencement Student Speaker 2019
On June 7, the largest graduating class (over 400 students) walked through the Norco
College stage to accept their degrees. Over 4,000 guests proudly gathered around the
soccer field to cheer on the graduates as they prepared for the next chapter in their
lives.
Norco College student speaker Angelica Gutierrez shared her inspirational story about
resilience and courage. She talked about the struggles she faced coming to the US
and being bullied for not knowing how to speak English. Introverted by nature, Gutierrez
recalls wanting to drop out of school, but she turned to her courage and continued
to push through. She remembers reciting the following quote from Frank Ocean, “Work
hard in silence, and let success make the noise!" Gutierrez was successful all right
and graduated with four associate of arts degrees in Spanish, Humanities, Social and
Behavioral Studies, and Communications. She is on her way to Cal State University,
San Bernardino this fall.